Monster Reborn
by Miss Macabre Grey
Summary: Ryo is finally able to piece his life back together now that the Millennium Items are gone. Even the dark halves have disappeared, but something keeps plaguing Ryo's mind; in his vague memories of battle city, he knows of a dark spirit who was sent to the shadows. Was he expected to remain there forever, or was there the tiniest chance that he could come back? Written w/ Jem Kallop
1. Chapter 1

So this gem here is a beautiful creation entirely of my plot-god imagination. I didn't think I'd get to actually write it, so I assigned it to Jem Kallop. After a bit of talk, I didn't feel comfortable with her doing it all, so we're cowriting it so I don't slack off and actually pursue this. This is Deathshipping, but Jem is a demanding wench and wants Thief. I don't really intend to have "Thiefshipping" in here, but I've been playing with some … ideas.

Jem is glorious enough to actually stick to my American English (though I get double Britishness outside this story from her), and we will spell Ryo the RIGHT WAY (because I'm making her). Stupid fanon adds that stupid, worthless u in his name even though it ANTI-helps. Anyway, enjoy the story!

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The late sunlight slanted through the small shuttered window, sending little flutters of dust shimmering through the warm summer air. The sweltering day practically melted Ryo, the heat of Domino city causing sweat to slide along his skin and his hair to stick to his dripping forehead, eyes half-lidded and drooping in the bright, almost unbearable glare. Ryo had hidden in his apartment, as he did most days. One reason was the hot, blinding sun that would burn through his pale skin as easily as a sharp knife slipping into melted butter; another was that he really didn't want to deal with any other people anymore. He was trying to forget.

Four months passed since the Memory World, when the Pharaoh had finally reclaimed his life in Ancient Egypt, and Ryo's own dark half had finally been dragged back into the pit of shadows. Ryo shuddered even at the memory, his white hair falling into his eyes and sticking to his sweaty forehead at the violent movement. Ryo's memories of his life before were hazy at best; his experiences had been reduced to sporadic instances of sudden feeling, usually filled with pain inflicted by one person or another, before he was once more locked back in that dark, cold metal with that even darker, colder voice whispering threats into his ear. Ryo's face creased. _Better to just forget about it now,_ he would constantly tell himself. _You're done with it, and you can move on._

The only problem with that was that no one else wanted to move on with him.

Yugi was distraught once the Ceremonial Duel was over, his tears and wails enough to remind Ryo just how different the two truly were. Atem leaving took more out of Yugi than any of them had previously realised, and while he was doing a good job of starting over, anyone could tell from looking at him that he wanted his other half back. The rest of the group – Joey, Tea, even Tristan to some extent, all missed the Pharaoh's calm, assured presence, too. They did not want to move on. Hell, there were times when Ryo was not even completely sure that _he_ wanted to move on_._ Ryo's crueler self may not have been benign like Yugi's, but there had still been a definite attachment. Ryo could not help it; he _was_ Bakura's reincarnation, after all, and the two had been more similar than Ryo honestly liked to admit. Sure, Ryo had not hated the Pharaoh or been hell-bent on revenge, but he could not honestly say that, had he been placed in Bakura's position, he would have acted in nearly the exact same way. Ryo shuddered a little at that thought, remembering Bakura's immense pain. _Well, at least he is at peace now._

All the Yamis were at peace, and the Millennium Items were gone, just as they should be. Ryo curled up on his sofa, the TV on in the background although he was far too caught up in his thoughts to pay any real attention to it. Yes, the Items were gone, but they had left a legacy behind; their previous holders still retained small amounts of Shadow Magic. Yugi and Ryo had realised it at the same time, back when they first returned to Domino after the Ceremonial Duel. They had instantly gone to the Ishtars, who had remained in Egypt, only to find that Ishizu and Marik felt the same thing; they all possessed Shadow Magic. Ryo could feel it still – that small pulse in the back of his brain, the final remnant of the Ring. Ryo missed his Item's comforting weight around his neck from time to time, and this little piece of darkness was a reminder, however small, that it all had really happened. He was not actually going crazy. It was real.

_That shouldn't even comfort me,_ Ryo would often think bitterly. _Why should I care about it? I should want to forget it all. I should want to move on. I'm not like Yugi, or Marik. I never welcomed this power. I never wanted it. And I couldn't be happier that he is gone._ For the most part, that was very true. Ryo had his body back, his bouts of amnesia had stopped, and he was perfectly in control of his surroundings at all times, but a dull ache in his chest always throbbed when he went out, when he had to see the faces of Yugi and his gang, and realize that he had never truly been one of them. They were open and friendly to his face, but he could see in their eyes that when they saw him, they saw Bakura, too. Sometimes, Ryo hated that damn spirit more than he ever thought possible. The way he saw Yugi fawning over Atem, bringing him up in every conversation with his eyes always welling up in tears, often made Ryo feel sick to his stomach. The dark sides of anyone should not be treated like that. Those beings should be hated and feared – that was their only purpose. They were dark by definition.

One other person seemed to share Ryo's opinion on that matter, and that was Marik. The Egyptian teenager had moved back to Domino about a month prior, muttering something about getting away from memories whenever he was quizzed; Ryo had run into him once or twice, and they always shared a quick, mumbled conversation before going their separate ways. They both kept mostly to themselves, and certainly away from Yugi and his friends. They would be civil, but both were too different. Both had darknesses they wished to forget.

Ryo's memories of Battle City were blurry at best, but after running into Marik a few times he went to work, trying to unravel the pieces that would explain why the Egyptian teenager was so familiar to him. He had heard from Yugi that Marik had been shunted out of his body by an evil spirit, whom Atem had then banished to the Shadow Realm, but Ryo had yet to work out his own body's connection to the whole scenario. It had taken a while, but Ryo had delved into his own darkness and had, eventually, worked it out. Marik had used Bakura, and Bakura had used Ryo. Then, when Marik was banished from his own body, he had turned to Bakura for help, and they had lost. They had all been banished to the Shadow Realm, and Ryo had been left unconscious in a hospital bed, only for Marik to eventually reclaim his body with the help of the Pharaoh, banishing the dark spirit to the Shadow Realm for evermore.

Ryo wondered about that.

As he curled up on his sofa, clothes sticking to his skin, Ryo tried to work out just why that would have happened. Sure, Marik had a right to be angry that his body had been used against his will – Ryo knew _that_ feeling all too well – but, well, it wasn't exactly the dark spirit's fault, was it? In fact, to Ryo, the spirit was the victim in all this. From what he had gathered, Ryo presumed that the spirit had been born out of Marik's own emotions, and as such had never known a life of its own. To banish it to the Shadow Realm, when it had merely been trying to save itself, seemed to Ryo a little harsh. He felt a sudden rush of sympathy for the dark spirit; after all, how many times had Ryo felt the consequences of some evil act of Bakura's? Was it right to judge a spirit when it had had no opportunity of a life of its own?

Ryo didn't think so.

As he sat there in the dwindling light, Ryo arrived at a decision. This dark spirit fascinated Ryo in ways he didn't fully understand; he had been born out of horror and blackness and hate, and he had never been given an opportunity to see the good things in life. Ryo realized that he wanted to change that. He wanted to help. A part of him existed– a very small, deep part – that quietly wondered what life was like from a dark half's perspective. A being made of darkness. Fascinating indeed.

Without fully realizing that he had made a decision, Ryo was leaving his apartment. The sun was low on the horizon now, its rays slanting at just the angle to hit Ryo's eyes; he blinked, raising one hand to shield his too-pale skin. He could already feel it burning.

Ryo made his footsteps quick and light as he headed through the streets, not all that surprised when he saw exactly where his feet were leading him. Marik's door was old and flaking, the wood thin and undertreated beneath his knuckles. Ryo knocked twice.

There were distant sounds of movement, and a low grumble before the door was opened a crack and one violet eye peered out. It widened when Marik saw who it was. "Ryo?"

Ryo nodded once, shifting on the doorstep, his head surprisingly clear. "Yes, it's me. May I come in?"

Silence held for a moment longer before Marik slowly opened the door, stepping back just enough to allow Ryo entrance. He stepped inside without hesitation, following Marik deeper into the house. They entered a kitchen, larger than Ryo expected, with a table big enough to seat four people comfortably. Ryo sat as Marik closed the door. "Ishizu's visiting," Marik explained, his eyes still questioning as they took in Ryo's appearance. "You look warm."

Ryo nodded, half-smiling. "It's August in Domino. What do you expect?"

The briefest of smiles crossed Marik's face, and he switched a fan on before taking the seat opposite Ryo. They watched each other in silence for a moment, eyeing each other carefully, before Marik eventually spoke up: "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but what is it that brought you here today? No offense, but I never got the impression that we liked each other very much."

"You're right." Ryo smiled a little at Marik's confused expression, his tone amused as he continued, "There is absolutely no reason for me to like you. You stabbed me, used my body along with _him_, and then threw me to the Shadow Realm without a second thought."

Marik flinched slightly at his words, but a gleam glowed deep within his violet eyes. "Oh, those were the days." Marik hesitated, looking down before finally looking back at Ryo, his expression carefully guarded. "This isn't about ... Bakura, is it? I mean, he isn't … he doesn't want to speak to me … does he?"

Ryo frowned, a little surprised by the question; surely Marik knew that everyone's worse half were gone, beyond their reach now? Although, that would sort of negate his reason for being there … Ryo shook his head, returning Marik's guarded look. "No, Bakura is gone. I don't hear from him anymore, thank God. Also, just to clarify, I'm Bakura, too. Don't make it seem like I can't have my own name."

"Oh. Right." Ryo gave credit to Marik for trying not to sound as disappointed and conflicted as he obviously was. Marik quickly looked away again, his hands clasped tightly together on the warm wooden tabletop. "So, what is it that you want, then? Did you wish to speak with Ishizu?"

Ryo shook his head quickly. "No, it's you I want to talk to. Well, sort of..." Ryo looked up, finding Marik's eyes trained directly on his face. How exactly should he go about this? From what little that Yugi had told him, Ryo knew that Marik hated his Yami with a passion. Still, Ryo needed more information if this was going to work. Seeing Marik's intent expression, Ryo decided it would probably be for the best if he just spit it out. "Marik, what happened to your other self?"

Minutes ticked passed as Ryo sat silently. Marik simply stared at Ryo, violet eyes confused, worried, and even slightly offended. The two never broke eye– contact, but Ryo mentally kicked himself every passing moment that he gazed into Marik's unblinking stupor. Marik broke away first, a sigh in his eyes that he refused to release out loud. Marik stood and quietly walked into the main part of the kitchen, Ryo still visible across the counter. "Would you like anything to drink? I buy tea when Ishizu visits, but I have water, milk, coffee, juice – "

"Marik," Ryo cut in softly, standing and walking to Marik before he realized it. "Marik, please answer the question. I'm sorry for suddenly barging in with such a personal question, but … "

"But what?" Marik's shoulders shook a little as his back was turned to Ryo. Ryo could tell that Marik was trying to keep himself composed, yet the blond was probably not even aware of the little things he did that gave away his inner turmoil. Ryo could understand how Marik's darker half was created from the blond's lack of control, even though he thought he could control himself and probably never completely knew he actually had a problem. "The monster was sent to the shadows for eternity. Or his life. Or however the damn Shadow Realm works, but the point his he's there and not here, right?"

"Yes, that's exactly the point," Ryo mumbled to himself. "Actually, I would like some tea. It would calm us down."

"Well, too bad. The offer is closed. You don't … I don't need to be calmed! All our dark halves are gone, so that's it. Nothing else needs to be said or known!" Marik tried to keep his voice down, but his temper took reign. As Ryo watched Marik with increasing trepidation, footsteps could be heard approaching from the hall, and Ishizu appeared through the kitchen doorframe. Marik spared her a glance and sighed. "You can leave now, Ryo."

Ryo's eyes narrowed at Marik. The older male was not mad – he completely understood, actually – but he could not help but try and scrutinize Marik a little for any possible hints of what happened. Ishizu stepped into the kitchen and placed a gentle hand on Ryo's shoulder. Ryo softened his eyes slightly at her, but still ached with confusion.

"Let me escort you outside, Ryo. My brother seems too upset to do so." Marik humphed from the side, but Ishizu ignored him. "Come, please."

"Goodbye, Ryo," Marik spoke a bit more civilly than he had previously. "Do … Do visit when you have the chance."

"Thank you, Marik. I'll be sure to be more pleasant next time." Quietly, Ryo walked beside Ishizu out of the house. The wise woman remained just as silent, but Ryo expected as much from the cryptic sage.

Once the two stepped outside, Ishizu bowed politely and smiled at Ryo. "Need I ask what happened?"

"Knowing you, I guess not really." When Ryo saw Ishizu's smile turn into a smirk, he knew that he guessed correctly.

"You should not have asked about my brother's dark half, Ryo."

"Dark_er_, actually. Marik isn't all that sweet, you know."

Ishizu shot Ryo a scolding look, but recognized the truth of the harsh joke. "Regardless, you should not have asked. In all honesty Marik hardly even knew his darker self. He lived most of his life not even aware of his existence. My brother only met him twice, when the monster banished him to the shadows with your darker half and when the Pharaoh and Marik banished him into the shadows.

Ryo frowned at that. "You all keep calling him a monster, but what did he actually do?"

"Other than try to kill Marik, Odion, the Pharaoh, and enslave humanity within endless darkness of his beckoning?"

Ryo actually raised an eyebrow at what seemed like Ishizu trying to be a smart aleck, continuing with a crease in his forehead. "Wouldn't it make sense for him to do that? He was born of the hate Marik had, the hate that made him want to destroy all that wronged him, wasn't he?" Ryo saw Ishizu nod, and questioned further. "If Marik created him as a child, wouldn't a child assume that the world itself cursed him? Not to mention you all treated him like a monster for doing what _Marik_ actually wanted, and then locked him away! If the world was cruel, then isn't it natural for him to act as such as a defense?" Ryo clenched his fist and turned away. Ishizu sighed, but said nothing, which in turn spoke volumes to Ryo. "Why did you really send him away?"

"Because he simply was not my brother." Ishizu fixed Ryo with a stern look. "Regardless of what you may think, he is – was – a monster. Monsters should not exist in the same world as true people. My brother's dark half was little more than a cruel spirit, and was rightfully sent to the realm of monsters."

Ryo shook his head. "That sounds rather pretentious. After all, what about my darker half? The way Marik acted when I first arrived, he seemed to want and _prefer_ the monster who used and controlled me over my 'true person.' And what about the Pharaoh? He used to curse bad people without any chance of redemption, and he is still absolutely adored by everyone else!"

"Those are different cases, Ryo. Please understand more before you make such brash comparisons. Until you understand Marik's darker half, do not come back and burden my brother. Farewell for now, Ryo."

Ryo needed no more prompting to leave. The pale male all too eagerly walked away, seemingly as answerless as when he had arrived. The walk home felt hours longer than the walk to Marik's had done, but Ryo attributed that to his accelerated thoughts buzzing more rapidly and copiously than usual. Ishizu told him that he simply had to understand Marik's darker half, which was worthless because the psychopath had already disappeared, gone as a supposed monster in a realm of monsters, reduced to nothing but his own morphed spirit and forced to create a form and feign a reality that barely existed in the never-ending and ever-changing darkness. Even the thought of the devil himself entering such a cruel world angered Ryo, and before the usually gentle male realized it, he was already slamming his front door in a rage he did not even catch himself feeling.

Ryo frowned, reflecting on his own behavior. He knew that the subject was sensitive, but the two Ishtars could have tried to better understand where he was coming from, except deep down Ryo was sometimes not even sure that he knew for sure himself. Ryo knew what those shadows were like, and he could feel great empathy to anyone stuck in there, but from what he heard everyone emphasized that the deranged darker half deserved to be there. If nothing else, Marik's Yami was not Ryo, and Ryo should only care about himself after all he had endured at the expense of others. Ryo should have already repressed those dark times of his past and moved on completely for a bright future, but those memories lingered as Marik's dark self probably lingered onto nothing in an intangible monster realm.

Ryo checked the clock, 5:23 at night, too early for bed but too late to really begin something new to calm him. Ryo sighed and resorted to his backup plan for easing his nerves. Many nights Ryo would rest his shot nerves by horror movie marathons, or playing table-top RPGs online, or most often he would even try to create his own games, but for the moment Ryo was too upset to really appreciate those other things. When all else failed, Ryo would take out his old dueling deck – his, not his dark self's – and play a few rounds against himself or simply admire the beauty in the cards (no matter what anyone else thought, Ryo considered Pegasus a true artistic genius for being able to create cards from the sweetness of Manga Ryu-Ran to the sinister Swordstalker.) In those moments of childlike awe as he stared at his cards, Ryo calmed as he remembered many good adventures with his dueling deck and the adventures he had hidden by the bad. Ryo figured that a small game against himself would not hurt, and grabbed his old duel disk to make the silly game more interesting and lifelike.

After shuffling and picking up his first turn's cards, Ryo had Monster Reborn, Change of Hearts, Millennium Shield, Yami, and a blank card he found from Duelist Kingdom and kept as a sort of dream-catcher item to hold any wandering monsters he would encounter. All things considered, Ryo had a lousy first hand. Change of Hearts was banned from official dueling ages prior, but Ryo forgot to remove his favorite card; Monster Reborn only worked when a monster died, and none had; Millennium Shield had too many star levels summon right away; Yami could boost Lady of Faith, but she had such a low attack, Yami would barely help. Worse was that Ryo had accidentally slipped his blank card into his actual deck. What could he honestly do with a blank card? Still, Ryo only played for fun in the moment, so he decided to leave things as they were.

Only really having one move, Ryo played Lady of Faith in defense mode along with Yami. The spell card created a dark world, shadows lengthening and deepening the air around him; Ryo chuckled at the irony of having created an abyss that surrounded him according to his own will. Ryo still remembered his first time the shadows were summoned, with the Ring and his first friends, though he did not know what was happening at the time. Still, Ryo drew another card, omitting his "opponent's" turn, to gain Skull Servant. Skull Servant was weaker than his Lady, so Ryo put it on the field to replace it with his Millennium Shield in defense mode.

Ryo pretended that his fake opponent had destroyed his Lady of Faith, but his Millennium Shield's impressive 3000 defense points guarded his life points well. Yami did not work on the Shield, but the card remained on the field, which meant the eerie darkness remained. Ryo ended his "opponent's" turn and drew Doomsday Horror. Doomsday Horror made for an impressive card under the right circumstances, but Ryo knew to play it later when the card's special affect would be better utilized. Ryo laughed to himself that he still held the empty card in his hand, but decided that he could simply play his blank card as a monster while his Shield acted as real protection. Obviously the blank was not supposed to be in his deck at all, but if he drew it then he had no reason not to try and use it. Ryo continued to hold Monster Reborn, tempted to revive his Lady and go for a direct attack of life points.

Ryo actually put his other cards down to simply stare at his Monster Reborn. As the card seared into his vision, Ryo's head began pulsing painfully, and any distractions from the card increased the pain. Body trembling a little, the weak hands dropped the Monster Reborn card on the duel disk in an awkward spot. Ryo sank to his knees and reached for the floor with his hands, seeking support only to realize they practically slipped through the shadowy ground, which was somehow not as solid as it ought to be. His head pounded, pain increasing, and a sense of dread and glory swelled in Ryo's veins. The surroundings did not change, but everything felt wrong; the familiar head pounding always preceded his dark half taking over and summoning the malicious shadows. Ryo clutched his skull in one hand while lifting his Duel Disk arm. Monster Reborn had landed on a trap card spot, so Ryo picked it up and placed it on its proper spell area, neither knowing nor caring what was summoned or could be summoned, merely hoping for a creature that would end the duel soon for him.

From the field came a horrific, ominous power, accompanied by searing electricity that sizzled threateningly through the trembling, shadow-filled air. Ryo saw the back of a dastardly figure spawn on the blank card he set down previously, so unlike his Lady of Faith. Like a fool caught in the moment, Ryo's still trembling body rushed to the creature. Mouth agape, eyes widened, and body longing, Ryo took in the sight before him, disbelieving yet mesmerized. Something had gone very wrong.

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fooposjc. Yup. There's the first chapter. I began a bit of the next chapter, but I dunno when it'll be up. Also, choosing the cards that Ryo would use took WAY TOO FEBSKING LONG. I was like, "does this suit the occult theme"; "does this fit in the story?"; "what the heck is THAT"; "would Ryo have access to a blank card?"; "Is Ryo the sentimental type to keep a blank card?"; "Didn't be have this card in the anime?"; "Oh Em Gee, this card is perfect; I must use it!"; "Hey, the card actually works!"; "Ugh, I hate my liiiiife"; "I hate Ryo,"; "Duel Monsters sucks!"; "Fhemhfjs! DONE!"

That is basically my life when I do research of any kind. It's the most annoying process, but it makes it all worthwhile when those cards will work their magic~

PLEASE REVIEW. We need reviews desperately. Plus we shall weep and never return without your beautiful love. Seriously, this story is a pain, and I need to know if this is all in vain. T~T


	2. Chapter 2

So this chapter feels really short, but it holds a bunch. The word count is barely 3,000, but, to me, _IT IS FREAKING 5,000!_ This genuinely caused pain to write because the chapter scrapped itself three times. At one point I was tempted to throw this scene at Jem, but I couldn't because this is **my scene**. This was the first scene I thought when I made the story, but it doesn't do you all justice. I write, how do I put it well, really on the spot. I like what I write first most often because those are the words that normally come out most from the heart. I can edit without much complaint to use a better flow and change a few parts of diction, but UGH. The scene where I explain **why** and **how** _Monster Reborn_ worked just isn't what I wrote the first time. Honestly, in my head, this story makes _perfect sense_, and if you all have questions, feel free to ask from my inadequacy. Other parts in the dialogue are choppier and not as powerful. Jem adored this chapter's dialogue, but even if you all adore it, I'm just so sorry it isn't as good as it should be.  
If you couldn't assume, this chapter is entirely mine, but Jem beta'd it. She's mostly going to get the scenes that aren't as _needed_ that I wouldn't need to emphasize my plot flow more while we act as each others' betas.

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The creature had his tanned back turned to Ryo, spiked blond hair extending like daggers in Ryo's direction. Ryo shuddered when the horrific being stood, and chills ran down his spine as the blond turned around. Gaze piercing, Ryo recognized faintly that the violet eyes that greeted him belonged to someone else, and that visual sealed away any doubts of whom the monster could be.

Even the shadows seemed to cower away as the male smirked and released a cackle. Ryo vaguely noticed that the being was entirely naked, but that certainly was not his main concern. Ryo's mouth became dry, unable to speak. Vaguely aware of the situation, Ryo attempted to back away, but the creature's vice gripped latched onto his dueling disk-less wrist too quickly. Held in place by a choking grip, Ryo forced himself to look up, not needing more than a guess as to whose face the monster possessed. Ryo did not scream or groan, but his skin crawled when the creature trailed another bronze hand down his pale cheek and neck.

Violet eyes shone with a mirth that Ryo feared more than appreciated, their sadistic joy growing as the hands tightened their grip on Ryo's neck, nails sharp. Ryo gasped, but he knew not to struggle. Struggling never helped, and the captured male knew that fact all too well. The creature locking Ryo in place was wild, easily notable by his wild blond hair and predatory actions. For all those passing moments the other being never released a sound while Ryo kept gasping until finally he released a bellied cackle, white fangs poking from the laughing mouth.

"Oh, you are precious! I finally get out of the shadows, and my first 'friend' is a silent little snowball! What a laugh! What irony!" Ryo had never heard a crueler voice. The voice almost resembled Marik's, but it was even darker, harsher, deeper, and overall absolutely menacing. From the moment the Marik-look-alike spoke, his grip tightened, but the second he finished his grip tightened more.

Ryo lost all ability to breathe, and all the thoughts he had before he felt his eyes droop was that he would never know what went so wrong. At least, until the other being let Ryo go completely.

"Fuck, you're boring. Being alone for eternity is more boring than this," the blond growled. The dark being sat with his legs crossed and an arm resting on his knee propping up his head. Scowling, the creature signed. "The least you could have done was beg."

Ryo, in a lapse of judgment, laughed. The gentle boy laughed openly at the other being's childlike pose and behavior, and questioned why he ever feared the other at all. The other noticed Ryo's rude laughing, and quickly jumped up for an attack, but Ryo already thought ahead and beckoned his Millennium Shield card for protection. The creature cradled his striking fist as though it were burned, but Ryo assumed that that was probably how monsters often reacted to the mighty shield of the Pharaoh, a card powerful enough to stop almost any opposing and negative forces.

At the thought of cards, Ryo sneaked a glance at his once blank card to find it mostly filled by the blonde menace before him. Seven stars, the creature had ? attack points and ? defense points. Ryo knew the monster had an effect, but he failed to read it before another growl came from the other.

"Get rid of that damn shield! I want to destroy you. Why the hell would you be laughing? I'm meant to cover the world in darkness and enslave you all!"

"And it's not like that worked well the first time, is it?" Ryo asked with a bit of backbone unlike his previous reactions. "I know who you are. You won't beat me. You won't get out of this situation positively by trying to destroy me."

The other growled viciously, launching an onslaught of punches at the Shield before wearing himself down. "Fuck … you. I'm no one. How … can you know who am I when I'm nothing but … someone else's banished will? Fuck you, the shadows are better than you. I don't need to get out of anywhere." The being stopped, panting for breath, but Ryo noticed his eyes sulk.

"Banished is a strong word, isn't it? You make it seem as though you could never leave the shadows; like they were your prison."

"That seems to be the case, doesn't it?!" he spat out with a wounded tone, gesturing to the eerie scenery.

Ryo furrowed his eyebrows and sighed. "Nonsense. That's just a field spell!" Naïvely, Ryo removed from play Yami, yet the shadowed became even more menacing and creeping. "That's … This is … I'm such a fool," Ryo finally admitted, realizing everything in a sudden enlightenment from the darkness still remaining. "I summoned the Shadow Realm. I somehow … I summoned you."

"Oh, you summoned me. Yippee." The creature growled a little after his sarcastic retort, but Ryo paid it no mind as he approached him, Shield keeping solid guard. "Honestly, get that stupid thing away! You called yourself a fool, and if you really have to hide behind a stupid little shield from a 'monster' you summoned then you really are pathetic." The creature looked down at the once blank card upon which he stood and simply _laughed_, a menacing yet heartbreaking sound. "LOOK! Look at that! I don't even have a damn name on my card!"

Ryo bit his lip as he did actually come closer to look at the name, putting his shield foolishly to the side, only to notice that part of the card remained entirely blank. "No one ever gave you a name? Never in all the time you spent with people before your … banishment?"

Instead of a verbal reply, the being stomped impatiently on that part of the card with the coldest glare Ryo ever experienced. Ryo clenched his hands at the thought, and despite himself, Ryo met those violent eyes with a hardened gaze of his own.

"Well, that simply shan't do, now will it?" Finally Ryo came so close to the creature that he openly leaned down to the card and wrote with his dry finger a name on the blank space. In moments the shadows flared, darting to the card and inscribing the word in a deep black just as they danced around the card originally when Ryo first accidentally summoned the once unnamed creature. Simple and meaningful, Ryo admired his on-the-spot cleverness for a name.

"What the hell do you mean by _that_!?" the angry being asked in confused rage as he gestured to his supposed name. "Are you stupid?!"

"Didn't we establish that I can be rather foolish? I may not have meant to summon you, but every monster in the game has a name. Just because you were considered a monster and sent to their realm so brashly doesn't mean you have to go back without a na-"

"Go _back_?!" the blond seethed. "If you think giving me a pathetic little _name_ would calm me down enough for you to send me back, then you are _dead wrong_. You really are a fool!" The blond released another laugh, by far the cruelest and most malicious of any prior, tongue hanging and fangs showing. Ryo actually shivered.

"Of course you have to go back! Your being summoned was an-" Ryo cut himself off from saying an accident. Though he did not consciously mean to summon the man, Ryo certainly was not so cruel as to make it seem like a mistake. "I have no way of keeping something like you."

"_Thing?_ Here I thought that you would refer to me by that stupid little name you gave me," the creature spat, violet eyes scrutinizing Ryo for any sign of fear, which Ryo sadly lacked; confusion squirmed into his maroon eyes more than fear. "Funny how I actually would have liked to have a name. Guess not, hm?" the blond stated more than asked with deep venom lacing the words, proving the crazy beast actually took offense.

Ryo twitched a little and sighed. His head throbbed from summoning the shadow realm, at least without a strong channel from the Millennium Ring, but he still felt more pain in his heart by seeming to hurt the other. "You would actually … want the name?" Ryo asked in confusion. Granted, the pale male wanted the other to have a name, but he seemed to loathe the idea so much that Ryo had not bothered to refer to him by it. Worse was that Ryo slipped on his wording, not even referring to him as a person.

The other scoffed at Ryo's notion as though it was the most ridiculous thing he had said, but Ryo did not speak out. "Idiot, if I didn't accept it, the shadows wouldn't have made it appear on my card. Despite how boring they all are, the shadows are actually rather _respectable_. Honestly, they actually can't do anything someone somewhere didn't want, and since I'm the closest thing to a 'someone' here, I get a few perks." The man shot Ryo a snide look and spoke again, voice between mocking and bitter, "They actually think I'm human."

Ryo looked down, guilt in his eyes. Ryo forgot that the shadows honestly did only perform according to the will of the people in control. Banishing the supposed monster was done by people, and doing that could make the being bitter; enough to become whatever was not a part of the kind that treated it so wrongly. Ryo must have believed the other to be a monster, though that really was not the worst thing in the world.

"It isn't so bad to be considered a monster." Ryo heard the other scoff over his words, but he continued regardless: "My dark half was considered one, but he helped the souls of countless members of his village, after all. Yugi's dark half looked and acted like a cruel demon at first, but in the end most people adored him because he acted to protect. You did things that were the naïve wishes of another child. You're as much of a monster as anyone else, a being that acted out when others didn't want you to; a being untouched by kindness; a large, intimidating, horrific being; a being that others often are but to a different extent."

The Shadow Realm possessed a different air than it had in all Ryo's years using it prior. Ryo thought that only evil spirits and dark creatures existed in the uncomfortable blackness, but it housed a piece of everything. Anything could be summoned because everything that could be inside was as continuous as the realm. Ryo could summon the other being as a monster not because he was the cliche, horror-movie villain of fierce evil and fury, but because any creature in the realm fit into that category. Ryo's graveyard held all that the shadows did because those shadows held every creature on his and an "opponent's" disposed creatures. The dark-skinned wonder before Ryo could definitely be considered a disposed of creature.

Ryo had never backed away from the other after getting so close, so when Ryo vaguely noticed a incoming fist from the corner of his eye, he had no time to prepare. The blow was mighty enough to land Ryo on what found be considered the Shadow Realm's version of the ground, but he could not rest there for more than a second. Too soon, Ryo felt lifted from the ground by the shirt, his oppressor snarling like a mad dog. Ryo struggled slightly in the vice grip so that at least the tips of his toes had stability, but he generally showed no fear of the other.

"I … mean it," Ryo gasped out, maroon eyes meeting the blaring violet ones. "You are a monster, and so is … everyone else. Everyone loves Duel Monsters … people play with dark fiends, weird bugs, helpful fairies … You're none of them. You're just a monster that … hasn't found your place in a naturally dark and cruel world."

Ryo was raised higher before being nearly slammed to the floor. The blond menace leered down at him, furious. "I'll have you know that I know _exactly_ where I belong!" Angry veins were extending from his neck to every part of his cheeks, but he remained relatively tamed. "I belong on a dark throne with all the world kneeling before me!"

"Is that why you needed someone like me just to name you? Just to accept you?" Ryo asked with perhaps too much attitude. Prepared, Ryo beckoned the Shield back to him before another punch managed to land. Ryo realized that he probably had crossed a line with that comment. Noticing the other clenching his pained hand, Ryo sighed before getting up and grabbing the tanned fist. "You can't take over the world if you can't even beat a shield."

"It moved in the way! I was too late to stop the punch when I threw my body into it!" The way those violet eyes sparked in rebellion, juxtaposing the genuine defensive tone along with the absurdity of the situation, tickled Ryo with a small batch of laughter.

"That's another reason why you can't rule the world; you're too brash and throw yourself into things. Even when you know you'll wind up being hurt and losing, you keep going," Ryo's laughter too quickly died down and his words softened. The pale teen grabbed the hand and kissed it gently before the shadows threw a silent fit and practically hissed Ryo away.

"Gyah!" Ryo exclaimed before jumping back. Still, the tolerate male remembered what his companion said about shadows only acting to someone's will, and directed his glare at the responsible prankster.

"Keh keh keh. I almost regret rejecting you previously. You're not as boring as the shadows, after all. I mean, your stupidity is very entertaining. Tell me, do you normally kiss hands that strike?"

"Not exactly," Ryo answered faintly, holding his forehead in his right palm as he tried to assuage the painful throbbing. Being scared so suddenly did nothing to calm his over-exerted mind. "I just wanted to help. That's why I summoned you. That's why I kissed you. That's why I haven't withdrawn your card from play. That's why I named you." Ryo took a breath. "I wanted you to know that you are more than a monster."

The dark being sighed, and, for the first time, Ryo actually noticed the blond's angry veins recede, cruel smile fallen into a smooth line. "You know, I may actually like the name you 'gave' me too much. Did you know it means 'god of darkness' before you named me that?"

Calming down his pounding skull by rubbing his temples, Ryo had just enough energy to smile and shrug. "Of course not. I just randomly chose it because it sounded like an evil laugh, which you completely just proved with that dark chuckle from before. I said you were more than a monster, not a god."

The blond glared again, veins slightly returned. "Your back talk gets more annoying than amusing." The creature rolled his slightly mischievous eyes. "I'm as close to a god as any that walked the mortal or shadow realm."

"You had my 'back talk' coming. You need a little perspective. You had all that time to give yourself a name, but you didn't. Also, I'm still the one in control here. Before you disagree, I'm the one who summoned the Shadow Realm, I'm the one who summoned you, and I'm the one who can always just use Change of Hearts to make you obey me if you stray from my command."

The monster released a chilling growl, but Ryo only grew more ready. "That card only works on the opposing player's monsters!"

"And should you oppose me, I can use i-" A harsh throb cut Ryo off. "N-never mind. It's getting hard to maintain this place. I doubt I can … sustain the shadows, and you along with them, much longer anyway."

Violet eyes widened, actually fearful. "Oh no, you don't! You little shit! You have to release me. It's insufferable in here. The shadows are so boring! I can barely fucking tell how long time's gone on, let alone even remember what life was like before I came into this miserable world!" The blond openly panicked, concerned that he would lose himself completely to the continuous scenery and just blend in with it all. The last thing the dark being wanted was to be just another backend part of something else.

"But … I can't. Not for much longer." Ryo's heart dropped at seeing the desperation in the once fearsome eyes, but he could not continue using the dark magic, especially when he had not even meant to summon anything at all. Ryo dropped to his knees, tearing himself inside because he did not want to trap the other in the shadows, but also could not keep the realm.

"Then just maintain me! The damn Shadow Realm is an infinite abyss, but I'm just one monster," he tried to sound reasonable, but the wild look in his eyes spoke volumes.

Ryo quivered his lips, but nodded weakly. The shadows already began to fade as the stress built, but Ryo quickened the process, making sure to concentrate on only the one other solid figure. "Mm?" Ryo mumbled, seeing his hands and knees on his dirty green carpet. Ryo veered up, noticing the monster-movie posters on his plain walls, but turned his head to notice bare bronze legs approaching him.

"Hey," the other said as he leaned down with a wide grin splitting the sides of his face, and drooping eyes laced with sadism. "Nice to be back." Not taking time to settle in, the blond sat on the bed in all his nude glory, arms crossed and head slightly tilted.

"A-ah. It worked!" Ryo's eyes grew wide with surprise. The back of his mind felt like it was being drained, but nowhere to the extent of keeping all the infinite shadows. Ryo pursed his lips, but they soon became a mirror image to the other's wide grin.

The pale male extended his hand as though the half-dirty bedroom were a palace needing to be awed. "Welcome to the mortal realm, Kek."

* * *

Next chapter Jem'll probably come back. I'll even give her a spot in the A/N, maybe.  
Anyway, so it toook the very last word of the update, but if you didn't figure it out, Yami Marik shall be Kek. Tends to be a common thing in Jem's, and my, stories.  
Jeez, I really hope you guys like this story! PLEASE leave a review. Doing that is the only way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, readers! Jem here. XD So, Grey let me have a piece of this AN and chapter! Mostly because it is fluffy, and I adore fluff. Remember, the plot is all hers; I merely help her to write it, and give her a kick when she thinks it is rubbish or threatens to leave the fandom. ^_^ Massive thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!**

_I often get really offended my Jem's A/Ns. Like, sometimes she doesn't even mention my name at all in other stories. I'm basically the most inspirational person ever, yet she just doesn't seem humbled anymore. Like, in the her A/N above mine, she makes it seem like I'm some bad guy who doesn't normally give her rights. She hardly even deserves rights. I mean, why isn't she just thanking me endlessly for the opportunity to work with me and be in my presence? The AUDACITY she has shown just now, I swear._

* * *

Ryo watched with curious eyes as the naked male on his bed looked around the room. Kek was apparently confused; his dark violet eyes were narrowed as he cast his gaze across the small space. "You seriously live here? Fuck, it's tiny."

"It isn't just this one room," Ryo explained patiently, drawing one hand across his forehead. The dark powers of his Shadow Magic had all but disappeared, leaving one slow trickle at the back of his head to sustain the bronze monster before him. The feeling was a little uncomfortable at first, but Ryo thought he would soon adjust. It was worth it to give the dark creature a body, anyway. No one, however monstrous, deserved to be thrust into the shadows for all eternity.

Kek lifted his head, dark blond strands of hair spiking wildly up around his dark features. "Well, I gathered that much. I'm not a _total_child."

Ryo felt a small smile tug his lips at the almost petulant statement. "Whatever you say. We should probably get you some clothes."

"Eh?" Kek looked down at himself, shrugging. "I thought it was just cold. Nah, I'm not fussed." With one kick of his legs, Kek sprawled back against the bed, his arms folding behind his head. "I'm going to sleep. You can go do whatever."

Ryo pursed his lips as he took in the bronze monstrosity on his bed, shaking his head. Kek's brazen attitude was grating on him a little. Ryo had just dragged Kek out of the shadows and given him his own true form for the first time in his short life, after all; it struck him that the least Kek could do was be a little more grateful. Ryo edged a little closer to the bed, clearing his throat. "Kek. Get up. You need to get dressed."

A muffled grunt was the only response Ryo got as Kek flipped onto his front, the sheets bunching around his prone form. Ryo slid his eyes to the right, doing his best to ignore the tanned backside that was thrust carelessly into the air as he stepped closer. "Kek. Don't go to sleep. Go in the bathroom, and I'll find you some clothes, alright?"

Something akin to a feral snarl ripped from Kek's lips, and he opened one dark eye to fix Ryo with a firm stare. Deliberately, with assured movements, Kek lifted one hand with middle finger raised and gestured rudely right in Ryo's face. His head and hand crashed back into the mattress.

Ryo blew a puff of air between his lips, irritated. His hands curled into fists by his sides as he glared down at Kek, his eyes narrowed dangerously and his jaw set. "Right, fine, I'll dig out some clothes for you while you just lie there, on _my_ bed, in _my_home, while _I'm_ sustaining your physical form. That's a great idea, because it isn't as if I could just _send you straight back to the shadows_ if you irritate me enough. Good plan, Kek!"

A snarl ripped between bronze lips as the monster flung himself upright, the veins in his forehead standing out. He pinned Ryo with a glare. "Like fuck you will. If you do I'll kill you."

"And how did you plan to do that, once you're back in the shadows?" Ryo almost wanted to laugh.

"I don't know," Kek grinned maniacally, his flecked lips stretched wide. "You were stupid enough to summon me once. Chances are you could do it again."

Ryo placed his hands on his hips. "Do you really want to take that risk? I'm sure the shadows would just _love_ you to return."

"Alright, fine!" Kek snapped, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his arms atop them. "You can find me some clothes if you really want, although judging by your scrawny form we'll be lucky if you have anything that fits."

Ryo raised an eyebrow at that. He had a point, after all; Kek had to be at least three sizes bigger than Ryo. Pursing his lips, Ryo went to his wardrobe and rummaged through his drawers, muttering, "I'm sure I'll find something, don't worry ..."

Kek merely snorted, falling back onto the bed and closing his eyes again. He was soon awakened by the feeling of something soft landing on his head. He coughed, sitting upright and tugging irritably at the thing covering his face, holding it at arm's length with a distasteful look. "What the hell is this?"

"For you." Ryo was standing proudly near the end of the bed, his features lit by a wide grin. "I actually have a shirt that will fit you!"

Kek screwed his face up, examining the piece of cloth long-distance. "I'm not wearing that."

"It's the best I've got," Ryo shrugged, turning back to his drawers. "Pants will be a little more difficult, though..."

Kek continued to glare at the thing he had been given, acting as if Ryo hadn't spoken. "It's pink."

"It's a free blood donor shirt, I didn't pick the color."

"I'm not wearing it." Kek chucked it to the end of the bed, turning with a petulant frown.

Ryo sighed. "You have to. We'll go to a clothes store in a minute, but you can't go out naked. And before you ask, I am not leaving you alone in my apartment."

"I won't do anything," Kek whined.

"Sorry," Ryo laughed, the sound unerringly bright to Kek's ears, "But I want to actually _have_ an apartment by the time we get back. You're coming with me, which means you need to put on clothes. Which means the blood donor shirt for now."

"I'm not wearing -"

"If you complain any more, I'm sending you straight back to the shadows," Ryo threatened without turning. "Just put it on. I don't know what we're going to do about pants, though ..."

Ryo continued rummaging, his brow furrowed as he thought. None of his items were going to work. Casting his eyes around the rest of the room, Ryo's gaze lit up when he saw the bedsheets. It was only a temporary solution, but it should work well enough to get them to the shop. Ryo headed back over to his bed, fingering the material thoughtfully; his sewing kit was in the living room, if he remembered rightly.

"I hate this thing."

Ryo glanced into the corner where Kek had ensconced himself, and his hands flew to his mouth. The massive monster had a look of almost confusion on his face, his features twisted as he plucked at the pink material now covering his chest. It clung tightly to his muscled chest, but that only served as more of a contradiction to his confused, disgusted expression. Ryo let out a small snicker.

Kek's dangerous gaze fixed on him immediately. "If you laugh, I will murder you. Slowly. In your sleep."

The threat coming from between those full lips, mixed with the ridiculous appearance of Kek's attire, had Ryo in stitches. He doubled over, clutching his sides as he laughed loudly, the joyful sounds eaten immediately by the threadbare carpet. A tanned fist rocketed forward and grabbed Ryo by the neck, lifting him up and slamming his back into the wall. Eyes watering, Ryo blinked away the last of his laughter and looked straight into a burning, furious gaze. He couldn't hold back another chuckle.

The grip around Ryo's neck tightened, and Ryo gagged, struggling to draw in a breath. "Oh, yeah," Ryo managed to gasp, "Kill the guy who's keeping you here. That's a really great idea, Kek."

The tanned monster roared with irritation, shoving his face right into Ryo's. "I want to kill you!"

"Well, tough." Ryo lifted his hands and pushed ineffectively on Kek's pink-clothed shoulders, his legs kicking as he tried to find the floor. "Put me down. I have to make you some pants."

Kek glared at him before reluctantly letting go, allowing Ryo to drop straight down to the ground. Ryo massaged his neck, taking a few deep breaths before moving. "Right, come on – get the sheets off the bed and follow me."

"Why?" Kek asked suspiciously, although he followed Ryo's instructions and tugged the sheets through into the living room. "What are you going to do?"

"You still need pants," Ryo pointed out quite literally, jabbing a finger to Kek's exposed lower body. He dug his sewing kit out from under the sofa and went to work, cutting the sheets into strips. Kek watched him suspiciously, his arms folded petulantly. When Ryo was done he lifted up a makeshift, baggy pair of pants. "Come here," he ordered, gesturing. "I need to get your measurements."

"I am not wearing that," Kek demanded.

"Of course not," Ryo murmured as he held up the pants, pursing his lips. "They're actually a bit too big. I'll sew them in a bit."

"I'm not fucking wearing them," Kek growled, his eyes following Ryo's every movement. "And why the hell can you sew?"

Ryo shrugged. "I just can. I've been fending for myself most of my life – when my clothes ripped and I couldn't afford new ones, I learnt how to fix them. This is the first time I've made anything from scratch, though."

"Even more reason for me not to wear it," Kek pointed out. "It would probably just fall apart as soon as I get onto the street!"

"It won't, but thanks for your great faith," Ryo interrupted. "Now hush, and let me work."

Kek instantly balked at being told to hush, but one flash of Ryo's stern eyes had him backing off. Ryo worked with his tongue poking out between his lips, sewing quickly. Kek growled when Ryo held up the freshly made pants and grinned, "Yep, they should fit! Put them on, then."

"I'm not fucking wearing it," Kek growled out. "I'll look ridiculous."

"You already do. And you're not getting anything else," Ryo pointed out, waving the bedsheets-turned-pants at him. "Put them on, and we'll go get you some proper clothes. I have to get some food in, anyway, especially if I'm feeding two."

Kek snarled but did as he was told, grabbing the pants and roughly pulling them on. Ryo glanced at him and had to hold back another fit of giggles; Kek looked absolutely ridiculous, dressed as he was in a too-tight pink shirt and slightly-baggy pants that had quite obviously not long ago been bedsheets. The only good thing was that Ryo slept on darker sheets, so even though Kek wore nothing underneath, nothing showed through. The bagginess was especially helpful at removing the otherwise very distinct form of Kek's privates. Kek was eyeing him dangerously, however, and Ryo's neck still ached, so he held back his laughter. "Right, let's go," Ryo instructed, grabbing his keys and wallet and heading for the door.

"I can't believe I'm going out in this," Kek muttered sourly as he followed. "I still think you could leave me here . . ."

"Not happening." Ryo fixed Kek with a stare, one hand on the door. "And for that matter, we'd better lay down some ground rules. Whenever you're out with me, you have to keep a low profile. Stick by my side, don't go anywhere without telling me first, and under no circumstances tell anyone where you come from. As far as anyone knows, you are Kek, an old family friend of mine. Got it?"

"Did you want me to hold your hand, too?" Kek sneered. "Fuck, I escaped the Shadow Realm to get a little _freedom,_ not to be tied down by another fucking idiot."

"You did not escape; I released you. You can quit the swearing, too," Ryo ordered, his eyes flashing. "Just come with me, stay quiet, and don't cause any trouble. I'm sure you can manage that much."

Kek's lips stretched in a feral grin. "I wouldn't count on it."

"Well, I would," Ryo matched his expression with a grin of his own. "Because if anyone catches you doing anything in the least bit suspicious, you'll be locked in a mental asylum faster than you could blink. Especially dressed like that," Ryo commented, giving Kek a quick once-over and flinching at the ridiculousness of his outfit.

"This is your fucking fault!" Kek moaned, plucking at the pink shirt, but he reluctantly sighed when Ryo opened the door and led them out onto the busy street. "Fine, fine, I'll behave. Fucking idiot."

"Good." As Ryo glanced at the monstrous form striding along to his left, still a little threatening despite the ridiculous attire, Ryo couldn't help but wonder exactly what he'd gotten himself into.

•••

Kek looked around with vaguely interested eyes as they entered a large store, ripe with many items he could destroy. He made a beeline straight for the clothes aisle, but Ryo caught his arm, ignoring the death glare he was sent as he spoke calmly. "We need a cart first, Kek. Don't get overexcited."

"I'm not," Kek muttered sullenly as he trailed behind Ryo. "You've got me on a fucking leash. I bet you'll just threaten me with the Shadow Realm if I try anything, won't you?"

"Yep," Ryo chorused cheerily, taking the nearest cart and wheeling it carefully into the shop. Ryo paused just inside the doors to send Kek a firm glare. "Right, now, keep your head down and stay close beside me. You know, I probably should have gotten you something to cover your hair with; it's rather distinctive …"

"You're not dressing me in anything else, I already look fucking stupid," Kek growled. A glint shone in his eyes as he turned back to the shop, his gaze lining with the clothes rack. He grinned. "Speaking of which . . ."

Ryo rolled his eyes as Kek stormed across the shop, hastening after him. "Kek, slow down! I told you to stay _by my side,_remember?"

"Fuck off," Kek growled, earning some surprised stares from the other shoppers. Ryo held back a smile when one man lifted an eyebrow at Kek's clothing. Kek's expression was turning dangerous, however, so Ryo moved quickly to his side, brushing his shoulder softly. Kek jumped and glared down at him. "What?"

Ryo smiled. "If you want to get some proper clothes, we should get to work."

Kek's only answer was to turn on his heel and stalk straight up to the racks. He began to sort through the clothes, tossing onto the floor any and all that he rejected, his face screwing up in a mixture of confusion and disgust. "Gods, none of these will work. What sort of a shop is this?"

Ryo drew a hand across his forehead, his arms full of the clothes Kek had tossed away while the huge monster himself stormed off to another rack, leaving a whirlpool of discarded items in his wake. Ryo took a few deep breaths and tried to keep himself calm; he should have known that taking such a dangerous darkness to a shop on his own would not end well. Kek had disappeared around a corner now, which certainly worried Ryo, but a haggard-looking shop attendant was heading in Ryo's direction, which worried him more. Abandoning the cart, Ryo quickly grabbed up the clothes and deposited them as close to where they came from as could be. The shop attendant was still advancing. Ryo recovered his cart and raced to find Kek before he could ruin the whole shop.

Wheeling around the corner, Ryo was met with a very satisfied-looking Kek holding up an outfit. "This will work! I'm going to change."

"Not _yet,_ Kek!" Ryo ordered a little breathlessly. Maroon eyes raked over the clothes the tanned man had picked, taking in the khaki pants, black tank top and – of all things – a long purple cloak. "Really? A cloak? I didn't even know normal stores sold cloaks!"

"Cloaks are good!" Kek replied defensively. "It's the closest I could find to what I wore in Battle City. I'm wearing it whether you like it or not, and I am going to change right now."

Ryo rolled his eyes, exasperated as he traipsed after the huge man. "You can't yet, Kek. You have to pay first."

"I'm not paying for crap like this," Kek scoffed. "Honestly, it isn't much better than what _you_made, and that's saying something."

Ryo drew the back of his hand across his forehead, holding back a frustrated scream. "I don't care what you think – we're paying for it. Put the clothes in the cart, and we're going to get food."

"No fucking way," Kek growled. "I am not wearing this stupid outfit for a second longer than I have to. I don't care what the fuck you want, I am getting changed right now." Without a second thought, Kek's fingers were pulling the pink shirt over his head, right in the middle of the shop.

Ryo all but screamed. "Kek! Not appropriate!"

"Why the fuck not?" Kek paused with his shirt half-way off, quirking an eyebrow down at Ryo. "What's wrong with you now?"

Ryo drew in a sharp breath. "Are you completely oblivious? People are staring. If you're not careful you'll be locked up for public indecency!"

Kek looked a little startled. "You can get locked up for that?"

"_Yes!"_ Ryo hissed. Relenting a little, Ryo grabbed Kek's hand and dragged him over to the changing rooms, abandoning the cart once more. Turning to the shop assistant, Ryo shoved Kek in her direction and said, "He wants to change clothes now. I'll pay when we get to the checkout – can you mark them up for me?"

The woman looked a little startled, but with one glance at Kek's strange clothing and dangerous grin she nodded, quickly tagging the clothes and handing Ryo a temporary receipt. "Just, um, give this to the person at the checkout, and you should be fine," she rattled off quickly.

"Fucking finally!" Kek exclaimed loudly, rushing with the clothes into one of the cubicles. Ryo shook his head, his foot tapping irritably as he waited; he made a mental note to never, _ever_ take the former monster out shopping. _Ever_again.

The shop assistant smiled gently at Ryo. "Difficult friend?"

"What?" Ryo jumped, his eyes going wide. "Oh, kinda, not really. He's just an old family friend." Ryo heard a loud bang on the other side of the stall. "But yes, a very difficult one."

The woman nodded politely, half-smiling, just as Kek finally reappeared.

"Gods, that's better!"

Ryo took a step back as he approached, swallowing. He had never had the benefit of meeting Marik's darkness during Battle City, and so this was the first time Ryo had seen him looking anything close to presentable. The tank top was snug to Kek's skin, showing off his many muscles. The cloak flared away from his shoulders, snapping dramatically whenever he moved.

Ryo edged back another step.

Kek threw his head back and laughed, dark chuckles echoing around the store. "Gods, _now_ you're scared? It's about time."

"I'm not," Ryo argued quietly, but earnestly; the warmth flowing through his veins was most definitely _not_ caused by fear. Ryo gave himself a quick shake and led the way back into the shop. Recovering the cart, Ryo picked out a few more outfits and other needs like underwear and a cheap pair of shoes. Kek objected to many of the things that Ryo chose, but the smaller male refused to let Kek loose again. As a safety net, Ryo picked out items of a darker color scheme, which led to a distinct lack of arguing. As a joke, Ryo briefly placed a pair of yellow with green-duck spotted pajamas in the cart, but the growl Kek emitted was so fierce that Ryo quickly put them back in their spot on the shelf. Kek claimed to sleep naked afterward, anyway, and Ryo figured he was used enough to the other's body by now to not buy a sleeping mask.

Several minutes passed, and Kek growled again, leaning down near Ryo's ear.

Ryo jumped. "Right, we're done with clothes! I've got a list for food, so this shouldn't take too long now …" To emphasize his point, Ryo moved a little faster than before as he hurried to the food section of the store.

"What the fuck is this?"

Ryo blinked when a carrot was thrown into his face. A white brow lifted in confusion, somewhat annoyed eyes staring at Kek. "It's a carrot. A vegetable. It grows in the ground, then you eat it."

"Oh." Kek tossed it away carelessly, turning to another fruit. He wrinkled his nose. "What the hell is that?"

"A papaya." Ryo closed his eyes, counted to three, then opened them again. "Kek, come on. I don't have time to fill in all the gaps in your education just now."

"But I want to know abo-"

"I'll explain another time," Ryo cut in sharply. The last thing he needed was to have to go through an inventory of all the fruit and vegetables in the store. Plus, with a new shipment of summer produce, Ryo had no idea what a "quenepas" was, and did not know how to explain some of the other foods. "Come on."

Kek grumbled as they continued around the shop. "You are so fucking boring."

"I'm also sane," Ryo pointed out sagely, "And alive. So just come on; I want to get home, I'm tired."

"Fucking boring," Kek lamented, but he followed Ryo around the rest of the shop relatively obediently. Ryo breathed a long sigh of relief when they finally made it out to the checkout without many mishaps. Kek kicked up a bit of a fuss when Ryo insisted on paying, but once Ryo had pointed out that neither of them could afford to have the police asking questions, Kek begrudgingly accepted his way of doing things.

•••

"I am _so_ glad that's over," Ryo sighed as he collapsed onto the sofa the moment they entered the apartment, depositing the various bags by the door first.

Kek snorted as he followed him in. "You're telling me. I can't believe what you made me wear."

"Speaking of which." Ryo sat up with a frown, tilting his head in Kek's direction. "What happened to my blood donor shirt?"

Kek shrugged. "I set fire to it."

"You _what?!"_

"Hey, hey, it's no big deal!" Kek held his hands up defensively. "It was only a small fire and no one noticed . . ."

Ryo breathed out, a headache pounding away in his skull. "Kek, there are such things as _security cameras._ Everyone is going to have seen what you did! You were supposed to be keeping a low profile!"

"I thought I did," Kek reasoned. "After all, no one recognized me."

Ryo almost wanted to laugh, had he not been so panicked. "For goodness' sake, you call setting fire to a bundle of clothes _low profile?_"

"Yes." Kek grinned maniacally. "Now, setting fire to the whole store, _that_ would have been more fun. Do you have a knife I could borrow?"

Ryo just stared at him, his voice faint. "No. No, you are definitely not getting a knife."

"See? No fun." Kek threw himself onto the sofa next to Ryo, sending the pale one scurrying to the other edge of the seat. Kek sprawled out on the cushions, picking up the TV remote and examining it closely. "So, what does this do? I saw something like it on Kaiba's blimp. Do they work the same?" Completely enthralled by the idea of new entertainment, Kek quickly mashed the buttons on the remote, turning the device on while also changing the channel to one of complete static and noise. "Huh. It must be broken."

Ryo glanced at the clock hanging on the wall near him, and his jaw dropped when he saw it was almost 11:30 at night. Sure, making the clothes took time, but the two left around eight. To think Ryo thought shopping would be a quick grab-it-and-go process. Ryo shook his head, allowing it to drop into his hands. His fingers tugged into the white strands of hair as he muttered desperately under his breath, "What have I got myself into?"

Kek sighed and turned to Ryo when the TV ceased to amuse him, tugging at long white locks until Ryo irritably looked up. "Hey, don't you even want to know _how_ I made the fire?" The saddest part of that question was the look of near innocent curiosity and ease when Kek asked.

Ryo buried his head deeper into his hands and groaned. "Kek," he mumbled while he still hid his face, "I want to punch you so much." Instead of acting on his urges, Ryo groaned and fell on Kek's nearby shoulder, too tired to do anything else against the irritable blond.

The blond's face contorted into a livid mess, scrunched up with veins popping, but when he moved his hand to push off the smaller male, he stopped, fist clenched and unmoving. Ryo's eyes were closed, long strands of white hair framing his pale face, giving him a look of tired innocence. Kek felt a stirring in his chest, and growled, trying to ignore it. "I haven't done anything wrong. If anything, I should punch you for annoying me."

Kek turned his head away from Ryo, annoyed at being under the control of such a weak creature who was using his body for support. Even with that said, Kek remained mostly still, only shifting to make himself more comfortable on Ryo's worn-down sofa. The warmth of Ryo against him, however aggravating, actually comforted Kek. The blond propped his drooping head on his sleep-prickled hand, his arm resting on the sofa's handles. Kek's long legs were bent unpleasantly high to avoid bumping into the coffee table in front of the sofa. The arm Ryo rested on also began to lose blood flow, sending unpleasant tingles shooting through Kek's veins. He growled low in his throat. The only reason the position was remotely tolerable to Kek, despite the utter discomfort, was the surprisingly decent-feeling warmth of Ryo against his side. Kek had genuinely never known such a gentle touch. Oddly enough Kek had always assumed that bodies were cold and desolate vessels, made worthless by age and disease, yet Ryo moved past those hindrances and made his soul strong enough to compensate for the weakness of his normal body.

Catching himself thinking uncharacteristically kind thoughts for the absolutely boring and pitiful male sleeping on his shoulder, Kek released a feral snarl. Ryo jumped slightly, his head lifting away from Kek's shoulder as he turned with wide eyes. He had not meant to sleep – after all, the shopping still needed to be put away, before the food went off. Ryo looked at the clock to notice only a few minutes had passed, releasing a pleased breath when he realized the food could not have gone bad so quickly.

"S-sorry, Kek." Ryo smiled sweetly up at his dangerous-looking companion. "I'm just tired. You can go to sleep on the bed in my room while I put away the groceries. They can't have gone foul just yet, right?" Ryo stretched, yawning widely, his tired eyes drooping a little too much to feign a happy look.

"Will you be joining me?" Kek asked instinctively.

Ryo paused and gave another smile, slightly less forced than the last. "No, no. I can have the couch. I like to hog the bed, and I imagine you'd kick me off painfully if I had the _audacity_ to subconsciously steal my own bed area from you."

"Damn straight I would! If anything, you should be happy if I bothered to give your puny ass a corner." Kek huffed at the idea of sharing, happy Ryo wisely chose to sleep elsewhere. A little piece of disappointment also wormed its way into Kek's heart, not that Kek understood such a feeling.

A small laugh escaped Ryo's lips, and he turned away from Kek to retrieve the groceries. The TV static still sounded in the background, so Kek figured he should turn it off before leaving to sleep.

"Goodnight, Kek. Sleep well and sweet dreams," Ryo called from the kitchen as he put some cans away in the pantry. Kek peered into the kitchen on the way past, casting a quick flick of his eyes over the back of Ryo's form, so he heard the gentle words very distinctly.

Kek had to wonder briefly if such kind words could really be directed at him, but he knew Ryo was certainly a big enough pansy to actually mean the pathetically sappy expression. Continuing his walk away, Kek mumbled out a retort Ryo only faintly heard: "Nightmares don't have sweet dreams." A few moments passed and Ryo heard the tell-tale squeaking of his old bedroom door. Before closing it behind him, Kek yelled much more loudly, "If you try to wake me up I'll fucking cut you!"

Ryo heard the door slam just as he finished unloading all the groceries, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Since Kek claimed to sleep naked, Ryo gathered up the pile of new clothes and placed them near the bedroom door, before continuing on into his small living room and glancing distastefully at the sofa. Ryo had never slept on his small, flat, dusty old couch, but he only cared about assuring Kek enjoyed his first day in the human world; he would probably only have a handful of nights among the living, after all. Ryo's headache had never completely faded, a small pounding still echoing in his skull as he spread clean sheets over the sofa, so Ryo keenly understood that he had a limit for how much shadow magic remained in him. The hourglass had been turned over, and Ryo could probably count how many sands dripped to the abysmal bottom with every passing moment.

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_Honestly, I'm really honored to work with Jem. She tries really hard to please me and my nitpicky mind, and she really doesn't disappoint. This chapter was mostly from her fluff-centric mind (my parts were the end, a few jokes, and a lot of edits/additions to make things smoother and more vivid). The worst thing about her is how freaking not American she is because I begin reading the next few paragraphs in a really bad, fake "British" accent until I fix the problem areas (like colour instead of color).  
Oh, and quenepas are so cool. Jem's home country is lame and can't speak other languages well, so for all the British people, they're known as "Spanish Limes" there, apparently. It's funny that after Jem told me that I told her she was a Limey, but the pun went right over her head._

_I also actually love non-American countries very much, but I do this all to tease Jem, so for everyone else, my apologies (Jem, you too can kinda have an apology, I guess, maybe.) _

_**We love you readers, and kind thanks for every reviewer/follower/reader/etc! Updates are going to be (supposedly because Grey is slow and lazy) on "Monster Mondays." Please review, dear readers!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**My an: Hello! Jem here (again). Grey ordered me to write an AN, and her wish is my command. ^_^ Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing so far, it makes us very happy to get comments. It also stops Grey from having an existential crisis and crying that no one is reading her beautiful work, so I personally thank you greatly. Anyway, enjoy this chapter! – Jem**

_Kinda hate and love Jem for that A/N. I didn't even think I was acting different with her, but she totally calls me out on it here. I don't even understand why I feel so depressed lately, but she's being all adorable and a little beckon of sunshine, so I need to freaking chipper up already. Still hate this chapter, though. It's all mine save for Jem's editing (and then I edit her edits). A lot of nudity is this story, and I think I'll move up the rating soon for future stuff, too._

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Ryo could feel a harsh shake in his drowsy mind, but he dared not to open his eyes. Instead, the young man tried to weakly swat away the disturbance, rolling on his side while pressing a pillow over his head. A growl could be heard, but Ryo pressed his bleary eyes tighter shut.

Ryo tried to regain some sort of comfort on the lumpy sofa until strong arms literally picked him up bridal style, only to drop him on the hard ground. Maroon eyes shot open, scrutinizing the light in the room and the tall figure hovering over Ryo. From the amount of light leaking into the room, Ryo assumed the clock had barely even struck seven. The thought alone annoyed Ryo, knowing he had hardly any time to sleep, and what sleep he did have was spent on the worst sofa ever. Ryo groaned in displeasure, and that only triggered a huff from above.

"Well? It's about time you woke up. I'm hungry, and it's time for you to make breakfast," an irritated Kek growled out.

Ryo groaned again, too tired to bicker with his guest. The host rolled onto his stomach weakly, and proceeded to lift himself up slowly. "Mm," Ryo hummed, wiping the crust from his eyes.

"Fucking finally. I've been waiting in bed for like an hour. I can't believe you sleep in this damn late. The sun's been up since, I dunno, dawn!" Kek appeared absolutely exasperated with the idea of Ryo sleeping in while the sun still barely hung in the sky. The blond spoke sincerely, but that did not stop Ryo from wanting to punch his ill-lit face.

"Yeah, yeah. Hence why you so kindly woke me up." Ryo yawned and stretched a little, popping sore joints into place. "You've honestly been awake an hour?" Ryo could hardly keep his eyes open, yet Kek seemed wide awake and completely mobile, even wearing one of his new outfits.

Kek shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I can't sleep with the damn light. I wake up whenever the faintest streak of sun comes. It was actually useful on that blimp, so I could sneak around when everyone else slept in, but fuck if it isn't annoying now. Especially since you're sleeping in just like all those other pathetic humans."

Ryo raised an irritated brow at Kek's words, but remained at ease. "My apologies, your majesty. I'll be less human next time. If you wanted me awake early, then you should have told me. I'd have set an alarm, maybe." Ryo looked at the clock, 7:13, and sighed. "You have the worst method of waking people."

"I assumed nothing else would work. If you can sleep through the sun, then only some physical drop would get your lazy ass out of bed."

Ryo knew Kek's logic failed on several levels, but when those violet eyes stared through Ryo so contently and assuredly, Ryo silenced the debate he had started with himself. Instead of attempting to scold Kek, who either ignored Ryo or lacked comprehension, Ryo walked into the kitchen, defeated. "I'll make us eggs, bacon, and toast. Sit down, and watch TV or sometging until I'm done."

Kek disregarded Ryo's order, staying in the kitchen instead and intently watching the smaller male. Ryo could only afford a small apartment, and having Kek cramping his space deeply bothered Ryo, though Ryo expected as much. He bustle about the kitchen, trying to ignore the dark being leering in his doorway, but After a few incidents of almost ramming into Kek's large frame Ryo had had enough. He turned on Kek with flashing brown eyes. "You. Go. Sit. Now." Hopefully the short commands would sink into the blond's thick skull better than any that Ryo had given so far.

Kek finally realized he should move, but only went as far as to sit on a stool that was on the other side of the kitchen counter, assuring to send Ryo a dark glare just before he seated himself.

Ryo noticed, glaring right back over the sizzling bacon. "Any particular reason you're watching me?" Ryo deadpanned.

"You're cooking." Kek shrugged.

Ryo glanced at the on-looking blond, and, noticing he said all he had to say, frowned. "I can assume you haven't seen someone cook, but any other reason in particular you are so keenly watching me?"

Kek's lips stretched into a grin. "I don't want you to poison my food."

Ryo had been sprinkling some pepper on the eggs at that moment, but his sleepiness and his surprise from Kek's comment caused him to drop nearly a quarter of the container, serving to make the pan to look like soot in the snow. Kek cackled at Ryo's blunder, one hand slapping his thigh as he threw his head back, peals ringing through the tiny kitchen. Ryo glared at him, brown eyes narrowed, before realizing the other was paying no attention to him. With a hiss, Ryo turned back to the pan, anger growing when he saw he had no hope of removing enough of the powerful pepper from the simple eggs, and hearing Kek still laughing greatly angered the normally patient male. Ryo's nostrils flared. Scooping up the egg most assaulted by the black pepper with a spatula, Ryo flung the tainted egg behind him, not caring where it landed but just needing to take his frustration out on something.

Kek instantly silenced, his eyes widened when the projectile egg landed on him, creating a sticky mess in the spikes of his blond hair. As he felt the warm, uncooked egg yolk ooze, sliding and dribbling down his face, Kek shivered in rage. Kek roared, "What the fuck was that for?"

Ryo never actually aimed, so when he turned to see the bright yellow blend in with the blond's hair and contrast with his violet eyes, the smaller male burst into loud roars of laugher. Kek's silent stillness ended too soon, and while Ryo was distracted with amusement, the dark entity leaped off the stool and shot toward Ryo, arms outstretched threateningly. Strong tanned hands covered Ryo's eyes and mouth from behind as he was jerked backwards, a warm weight suddenly very present behind him, sending shivers rolling down his spine and a pool of fear to clench in his gut. Ryo felt a bit of the egg yolk drip on his face, but focused on his other concerns.

"Why were you laughing?" Kek asked, though his hand still covered Ryo's mouth. The sound of Kek's familiar rumble eased Ryo's tension somewhat, and he found himself relaxing imperceptibly in the other's grip.

Fear left Ryo entirely by that point. The smaller male had not struggled in Kek's grip, and made no effort to speak while still in the menacing position. Kek momentarily tightened his grip on Ryo, but quickly released him with a hard shove.

Ryo shook his arms out and licked his lips before attempting to answer Kek's question. "Because it's just what people do when they're amused and happy. You're right, though, to question me. I can't think of a single reason anyone would feel such emotions with _you_ around." Sending one last glare Kek's way, Ryo saw smoke from the stove area, and walked over to turn it off. The eggs looked like thin sheets of coal, and the bacon shriveled into overly crispy hairs. Ryo grimaced. That had been perfectly good food before Kek saw fit to step in and ruin everything. He spun on his heel, eyes flashing furiously as he met Kek's still-annoyed dark eyes. "Enjoy your meal. See if I can be damned to let you live here long enough for another one." As Ryo stormed away, both he and Kek had to evaluate the legitimacy in the threat.

Kek bit his lower lip, swallowing all the insults he wanted to throw at the other. Ryo slammed the door to his bedroom, and Kek's stomach churned with something deeper than hunger. While under no circumstances did the blond feel true remorse, he did experience a sense of regret at the remembered disappointment in the brown eyes of his savior. Flashing before his vivid violet eyes, Kek recalled all the dark horrors in the Shadow Realm, sending waves of cold racking down his spine. Heart sinking to his stomach, Kek clutched the nearby counter for support. In that dark Realm, even though everything remained as deep shades of purple and black, the way the shadows twisted and contorted into true monsters of horrors never left Kek's mind. If he went back … Kek could never go back, and he would sooner be damned to hell than "live" in such an utterly horrific place, even if staying meant having to do something as foreign as apologizing to someone as weak as the pale fool he found himself trapped with.

Too soon after he made his resolve did Kek's heavy footsteps sound through the tiny apartment as he approached Ryo's slammed door.

Unlike his own darker half, Ryo knew Kek was not a thief who could pick locks. All Kek ever stole were lives and joys, and the smaller male certainly should not have expected much else. When he made his case to Ishizu, Ryo insisted that Marik's other half was nothing more than a child bred from malice and bloodlust, but the claim proved to be too true. If the host really cared about his guest, then he would have to ensure the other understood how the living world worked. Time continued differently on earth than in the shadows, and Kek deserved the chance to grow up and experience life a little. Ryo dreaded the idea of Kek's sure-to-happen misbehaving, but he mostly hated the idea of denying Kek as many moments of happiness as he could. As much as the kind male wanted to help, Ryo, still angry, wanted to absolutely destroy any hint of Kek's shenanigans and foolishness from existence and his memory, but an apology had to come first.

Kek found his feet moving to the front of Ryo's door before the locked-away male even began to calm down enough to think of the best thing to say, not that Kek knew what to say either. The blond knocked harshly, almost snapping the brittle wood door at the center, and Ryo supposed he would simply have to speak from the heart. The door remained locked shut, but Kek could faintly hear muffled footsteps approaching. Soon, but not soon enough, Ryo's form came into view, door mostly opened wide.

Uncomfortable silence reigned for a few moments as both males avoided looking at the other, Kek shifting his feet awkwardly, Ryo remaining stiff and silent.

"You're a _child_." Ryo eventually spoke, still refusing to make eye contact. "You're a sadistic child, and I can't believe I thought anything more of you." Ryo could feel Kek growing more and more ready to strike the weaker male, and he finally looked up to see those livid eyes. "You're a _wretched_ being, but I will _never_ hate you. I won't feed the hate in you, nor will I back down and let you run amok. You're in need of guidance and supervision, but I am not responsible to give you those things like a parent. You will be my companion, and I will be your friend."

Kek narrowed his eyes to slits, letting his body lean on the doorframe as he glared at Ryo. "You are not capable of such a big claim. I sure as hell don't want to be your companion, and I simply don't _do_ friends. I remember the Pharaoh's lot were keen on friendship, looks like you're just as much of a sucker as them."

Ryo held a hand to his chest, clenching firmly. "I know I am. I'm a side-friend that does his best for no reward: no family or friends to notice if I died, no joy in life other than knowing that I'm alive, and that I am the real Ryo Bakura. But you …"

Ryo trailed off momentarily, running his eyes down Kek's threatening form before continuing. "You've been grandfathered into a life of abuse and abolition since you were spawned from the mind of a bitter boy. In this perspective, whose situation is worse? Whose life has more value: the monster sent away or the forgettable tag-along friend?"

Kek had heard enough. The raging Egyptian abandoned any reason or desire even to look at the small, fragile body before him, because in the end, that was all Ryo was, fragile. Disease applied to him. Knives would barely need to touch his tender skin to make bright blood flow. Hands could easily wrap around his lithe neck. Kek knew Ryo had a strong will, but that merely made him more annoying. Kek had the ability to utterly crush the other, but inwardly Kek's hollow body ached from a weight he could not pinpoint when he thought of Ryo's thin form broken beneath him. Such thoughts would not do.

When soft fingers made their presence very well known on Kek's tough face, the blond flinched. "_Stop_," the chilling threat came.

"You started to look away." Ryo put both hands on Kek's face, locking their gazes. "I'm not going to be forgettable to you, and you're _not_ going to be a monster to me. Look at me right now like I'm human because you know you are too. You're human and _alive_. Every life is precious, at least to me." Ryo took a breath and, despite all his other notions of Kek, smiled when he realized the truth of the situation: "You're precious to me."

"How?" Kek asked simply, voice struggling to stay even. "What right do I have to be considered a living being?" Blond eyebrows scrunched down on Kek's face, but the blond did not try to break away from Ryo's soft, warm touch. "Why the hell would anyone want to be something as _worthless_ as a human?"

Ryo removed his shaking hands from Kek. Despite all of Ryo's explanations and firm speech, nothing seemed to seep into the blond's head. "Because humans aren't worthless! I'm human, and I saved you from the Shadows! You're human, and you have immense skill and worth, just look at what you achieved! _We're_ human, and we have _every_ right to be alive!"

"I'm not convinced." Once again, Kek said all he intended without saying much of anything at all. His tall body left the door frame, and Ryo felt as though nothing changed during the entire conversation.

About to run his fingers through his hair in frustration, Ryo quickly realized his hands were covered in the egg yolk. He groaned, grabbing a towel and clothes to take a shower. Ryo trudged to the bathroom, secretly happy about needing a shower in hopes that he would awaken better, but the door was shut in his face with the sound of running water on the other side.

Tired and worn down, the weak male gathered enough energy to pound on the door loudly, resonating greater than the water. "Open up. I need a shower as much as you!" Ryo received no response, but when he grabbed the doorknob, he realized that it had not ever been locked. Already desensitized to a naked Kek, Ryo flung the door open.

Despite trying so hard to prepare for anything, Ryo stood barefoot on the cold, wet tiles, shock apparent in his features. He was silent for a moment, mouth gaping, before he finally spoke. "...What are you doing?"

"Taking a shower," Kek responded simply. Ryo could understand that much, as he sat in the tub with his head lying on one end and long legs stretching on the slick wall. The main confusion lay in the fact that Kek remained completely clothed, and only let the water hit one area.

"Stand up. I need room to shower, too. Besides, you're doing it wrong." Ryo's only response was a bar of soap being thrown his way. "Ugh! Don't throw a fit because you have to get up! Besides, I'll help you."

"Help me with what? I'm fine alone." Kek crossed his arms and bent his knees down so his legs completely filled the tub.

"Oh, sure," Ryo commented dryly as he grazed blond hairs, still full of yolk. "You really look like you're coping." Ignoring Kek's flash of anger, Ryo approached the tub and whacked Kek's shoulder lightly, gesturing for him to move.

Kek growled, glaring at him, but Ryo was unfazed. "Let me in," the words were said softly, almost washed away by the loud water. Maroon eyes stared into violet ones, kindness showing, clouded with a sense of determination. "You need help."

Slowly, Kek's long legs bent more so that they scooted close enough that top and bottom touched, leaving enough room for Ryo to step in the small tub. A bit warily, Ryo entered the tub, extending his hand for the other to grab and stand. Kek merely eyed Ryo like he were a fool, arms still crossed. Ryo's body blocked most of the water flow, which was surprisingly chilling on Ryo's still clothed back, and Kek still lay on the porcelain floor of the tub. Since the stubborn blond refused to stand, Ryo realized the only other option was to go down as well.

Too quickly for the other to stop him, Ryo sat on his knees, putting Kek's legs over his shoulders to make room as he moved closer in the small area. More needed to be done still, so the small male placed his hands on both sides of Kek's hips, slowly lifting the tight, soaked black shirt from the blond's body. Suddenly Ryo felt a hard strike on his back, and he collapsed onto Kek's chest.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" the enraged Egyptian roared. The blond barely even registered what Ryo had been doing because it simply could not be comprehended by even an illogical imagination. "Go to hell if you think you can just do what you want!"

Ryo groaned from the pain in his back, realized Kek probably struck him, and raised his head. The pale face came only inches short from Kek's dark one, and from that close view, Ryo observed a myriad of emotions from anger, shock, and, most surprisingly, fear. Ryo grunted as he held his body up by the palms of his hands, fingers placed on Kek's firm chest. The cold water caressing his back no longer had any affect as the smaller male felt Kek's radiating heat.

"I'm helping you. You weren't responding to words, so I did what always gets your attention: action." The innocent smile plastered on Ryo's face could deceive God. "Now, take off your clothes and stand up. You're only letting the dirt from your clothes sink into your body." For emphasis, Ryo stood up, getting out of the tub on the small water mat. Ryo dripped heavily on the mat, mostly from his thick hair, and shed himself of his dirty, soggy clothes.

Ryo did feel deeply exposed, but not because he remained naked. No, Ryo knew nothing sensual would happen even if the two were bare, but openly showing scars and such malleable flesh could intimidate anyone when put in a small room with a sadist. A sadist who glued his eyes to Ryo's open body like a hungry wolf.

Smirking in a way that highlighted his sharp canines, Kek rose in the tub slowly. His blond eyebrows quirked upward as he eyed Ryo, stepping out so that he pinned the smaller male to the sink counter. Hungry eyes became inquisitive as they noticed the scars on Ryo's chest. As though he were playing a game of connect-the-dots, Kek eerily drew his finger from the scar at the top left to the scar at the top right, touching all in between. Ryo shivered when a sensitive part of his chest was touched, but could not push away while one strong hand still pinned him down.

"How did you get these?" Kek asked, his voice implying that Ryo needed to answer.

"The Millennium Ring. It'll always … always be a part of me." Ryo glanced up to see Kek studying his upper left arm. "That's from my dark and your 'light' half plotting. They, uh, decided my arm needed to be stabbed, I guess. I didn't understand nor really care for the entire reason. Oh! And I have a scar on my hand from when my dark half realized he lost a bit of control over my body, so he stabbed my left hand when I began using it to go against him."

"And here I thought I would like to cut you. You're already tainted," Kek said too coldly as he released Ryo from being pinned. The blond turned his back to Ryo, and dropped his pants in one easy swoosh. Taking a step just under the spray of the water, Kek turned with an unreadable expression. "Well?" No sooner after that was uttered did he pull his black shirt over his hand, tossing it to the pile of other soiled clothes. "Clean me."

Ryo sighed, though a small smile still graced his lips. Before entering the tub, however, he still needed to grab the soap Kek had previously thrown at him. "No need to return the favor," Ryo mumbled as he stepped into the still cold shower. Ryo forgot to bring a wash cloth with him, so made do with digging his nails into the soap and bringing it to Kek's chest. "Having to help you clean properly in the shower, I swear … You're such a child."

"It doesn't smell as girly as I thought it would," Kek admitted after a few moments of Ryo scrubbing. Ryo gave him a curious look, so Kek explained, "The soap. It smells nice. Kaiba's soap had an annoying lemon scent, and I was never around long enough to know what my other half used to clean himself with when he was locked underground in the sweltering heat of Egypt. I didn't like bathing much because of the way I'd smell afterward, or because it never seemed to last when sweat would just roll down my body."

"Uh, thanks, I guess. I'll be sure to buy this brand again." Ryo did not look up, focusing on the task at hand. The smaller male finished Kek's broad chest and strong arms, but refused point blank to clean anything lower. "Uh, you should turn around. I have to clean your back. I know you don't respond well to people ordering you around, but you should listen if you want me to finish quickly."

"You better hurry then," Kek growled as he turned on a heel, revealing all the truth his back kept secret.

Ryo wanted to say that he would be finished in no time, but looking at Kek's back, _really_ observing it, Ryo lost himself in a world of symbols and ancient text. Obviously the small teen had noticed vaguely some marks on the monstrous male the night prior, but he had been surrounded in darkness and fear without a chance to really register them. "These are … your scars?"

Kek threw his head over his shoulders, a snarl heard over the water. "These are _his_ scars. I'm not weak like _he_ is. I'm _better_ than him. _He_ should have been sent away for failing!" Kek shivered in rage, speaking in dark malice. "That worthless half of me … _he_ gave me these horrible scars because he was too damn _pathetic_ on his own. I saved him, and he_ sent me to hell_."

"He went to a different hell," Ryo replied softly. "You were the strength, right? It's hard to be in this world alone without a darker half to handle the dark things thrown at you. And as for you," Ryo reached out to touch the marred flesh, admiring how beautiful the details were despite the horrible canvas. "None of this is your weakness. This is proof of your strength. You overcame a tragedy, and all the repercussions, by yourself. Alone, you stood before others who carried powers of a god, and though you were defeated, you were – possibly _are_ – stronger. The others weren't alone, and in a fair fight where all the outside support was lost, you would have thrived."

"How the hell would you know? You weren't fucking _there_! I lost and those damned souls sent me away for what should have been forever!" Kek fully turned now, glaring at Ryo and huffing like a wild bull.

Yet Ryo never faltered. Instead, the smaller male smiled softly. "I know, but … Only the weak are not lonely." Ryo leaned up to Kek's face, almost brushing noses, and ceased smiling. "You seem very alone." Ryo released a small sigh as he lowered himself back down to where his eyes were again level to about Kek's lips. "Turn around, or I'll send you to the shadows. Your back looked filthy."

Kek knew, despite hearing the small playfulness in the command that Ryo meant his threat, and so he begrudgingly twisted at the other male's command. Kek liked the feeling of Ryo's fairly gentle hands massaging the scarred area tenderly. Everywhere else had been a firm and deep clean, yet without saying a word of what Kek liked and did not like, Ryo scrubbed perfectly, actually bringing a tiny amount of joy to the angry blond. Kek would never congratulate the other verbally, but allowing the other to continue without any broken bones should be enough of a hint that he appreciated the kind touch.

"On your knees. I need to scrub the egg from your hair."

Because everything else had felt decent, and _only_ because everything had been decent, Kek obeyed. The wild mane looked deflated and darker by the water seeping into the hairs, but the water alone would never wash away all the filth in the unscrubbed locks. Unlike everywhere else, Ryo cleaned Kek's hair painfully, pulling and scrubbing mercilessly against his scalp to make sure not a speck of dirt escaped the shampoo-induced genocide. Even as the blond yelped in pain and annoyance, Ryo continued, giggling to himself.

When the pale male deemed his companion completely, or adequately since he refused to wash the lower body, cleaned, he ushered the large male out of the small tub. "You can use my towel to dry off. Use the blow dryer if you know how, but if you break anything trying to figure it out I'll banish you. I have to clean myself now." By then the water lost all its heat, causing the scrawny male to shiver, but he endured it in order to wash himself.

Ryo worked in haste, shampooing and conditioning at the same time, and letting it set in his hair as he quickly ran the soap over himself, tiny white bubbles covering his body. The shower water effectively removed all the suds. The white-haired male shook his long locks quickly in an effort to be rid of the excess water before stepping out.

Kek had left the bathroom minutes prior after nearly breaking the blow dryer. Ryo turned on the machine to hear the familiar rumble, but soon turned it off to change. As he had hoped, the shower woke Ryo, and the male left the bathroom eagerly. Ryo heard the static from the TV, so he instantly knew where to go.

"Kek, turn that off," the smaller male ordered. "I want you to take a walk with me to the park. C'mon, it's still early."

Kek screwed his face up, tilting his head back to meet Ryo's eyes. A disgruntled noise sounded from between his dark lips, along with a question: "_Why_?"

"Because you are a child! It's perfect: you can be around lots of people, and yet not be social with anyone. You can see how people handle different situations, be loud, and not be arrested … Hopefully." Ryo approached the unstable blond eagerly, grabbing his large dark hands with his small pallid ones. "I want you to live and experience the world, Kek." Ryo squeezed Kek's hands firmly, but not painfully. "This is … is something friends do."

"You want me to be weak. You said only the weak need friends!" Kek huffed, ignited by Ryo's request as he planted himself deeper on the couch.

"Yes, because the weak can use their friends as strength." Ryo was fast becoming exasperated; he merely wanted Kek to experience some of the good sides of life before he would inevitably be sent back to the shadows. "A good friend can make someone seem stronger. Please, you have so much to experience," if the words were not convincing enough, Ryo mustered the kindest, most longing expression he could. Kek barely seemed to be looking, but no one could deny the sincerity in the request. "_Experience the world while you still can_," Ryo added in his sore, throbbing head. Maintaining a physical form for Kek was more draining than Ryo had realized.

"After the park, can we go buy me a knife?" The blond crossed his arms expectantly, brow cocked upward.

The smaller bit his lips, but rolled them out with a sigh. "Sure. You won't be allowed to use it, though. Ever."

Kek just gave Ryo a menacing smirk, discarding the boy's hands as be stood on his own. "Let me grab my cloak first. I want to walk around in style."

Ryo watched him out of the room with the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips. Ryo had to say that Kek's childishness could be endearing; excruciating, and enough to drive Ryo crazy, yes, but there was still something about it that awakened Ryo's compassion. He wished to give the blond menace some form of Eden in the short time he had in the world if the living. No one deserved to experience only pain.

There was a loud crash from the bedroom, followed by long growls of swearing. Ryo rolled his eyes and stepped warily to the room, going on to sort out whatever mess Kek had got himself into this time; the routine was quickly becoming familiar, but Ryo could not truthfully say that he did not find it enjoyable. Kek was the first person in a long time to treat Ryo as himself, and it was something that Ryo wanted to hold on to for as long as he possibly could. Companionship was something new for the both of them.

* * *

**_So sorry about not updating last Monday. Grey decided she needed to write sharkbait shipping instead. Even then she didn't cheer up. :/ Jem just doesn't understand the magic of sharkbait shipping (Jem even called it unnecessary, so Grey was fueled to write it more)._**

**_Please review, O Merciful Readers. How we so need you!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! This chapter is a bit of a mix. I wrote the middle bit and Grey wrote the beginning and end. She basically gave me the bit of the chapter that she couldn't be bothered to write, and I, like the good friend that I am, gladly accepted it from her and (hopefully) made it good. Thanks so much to everyone reading/reviewing/showing support. We do love to hear from you. Enjoy this chapter! - Jem**

_Did you know apparently in England weddings don't have maids of honor? That seriously sucks! I've already began to plan Jem's wedding (she's still sing, but whatever), and I can't even make myself the number 2 girl there! Cruse you, England. Curses.  
Also, the reason the chapter was divided as it is stems from my inability to write a fluffy park scene. I took like a week and a half and only wrote 1k words because I didn't want that scene. Clap for Jem, seriously. _

_Story's rated M now, but this chapter is still innocent and sweet. The M is just the general claim of what's to come, and all the nudity and language already happened._

* * *

Ryo enjoyed a deep breath once he stepped outside. Ryo felt comfortable and ready to enjoy a day in fresh air and good warmth, fully clothed in a light blue shirt, dark blue jeans, and worn sneakers. At first Ryo thought to put his still dripping hair in a ponytail, but the breeze passing convinced him to let it down and blow with its gentle touch.

"You look pleased," Kek commented dryly as he stepped out from the apartment. The blond changed into another pair of clothes, and Ryo failed to stop him from wearing the long cloak.

"Watching you look ridiculous in public is a pastime of mine." Kek scowled, and Ryo smiled cheekily. "Not my fault, I swear. Besides, when it gets hot enough in the afternoon, you'll certainly regret your outfit."

"Afternoon? Fuck, how long do you want to be there?! It's not even ten yet."

"Long enough to see you understanding how normal people handle daily life." Ryo pondered his statement in his head a few seconds. "Never mind, that would take years. We'll stay until at least noon."

One glance at Ryo's determined eyes told Kek that he truly had no choice. The blond glared bitterly, but Ryo just walked ahead, practically skipping by the lively bounce in his gait. Kek truly hated seeing such a joyful sight when he recalled how completely void of emotions his entire existence had been. Being around the smaller male, however, filled in parts of his emotional abyss. Kek knew he could overpower Ryo, convince him not to make them go, but Kek did wonder what the world was like outside of decks of flimsy paper and tainted gold.

Ryo moved ahead quickly, but waited for Kek by the stairs. After the previous night's shopping fiasco, Ryo knew that something would go awry even if he monitored the blond beast like a hawk, but the knowledge only excited him more. Ryo tired of his mundane, lonely life, so having someone so special for company truly did captivate a certain charm. Kek, in not even 24 hours, ripped out every good mood Ryo could form, though Ryo had never really experienced any 'good' before he arrived, as well.

"Ready?" Ryo asked simply when Kek finally moved his unexcited self to the stairs. The blond shot Ryo a deadly glare, but Ryo ignored it all the same as he moved down the steps, dragging the larger male by the wrist.

•••

"You do not look well, brother," a calm but worried Ishizu voiced. Her usually stoic expression softened as she gazed at her ill brother. Slender bronze hands reached to touch Marik's forehead, but he swatted her hand away weakly.

"No, sister. This isn't from a fever." Marik had been standing, but his legs became heavy and he hastily sat himself. "You feel it too, don't you?" His violet eyes narrowed and scrutinized her. "You're no fool. Surely, you must have noticed."

Ishizu sighed as she took a seat across from her brother. "I feel great anger and resentment. It . . . has the same aura as you, but you rarely show such negative emotions."

"No, I do feel them all the time," Marik corrected, somewhat bitterly. "I just never let them out as needlessly since that monster left me." Marik held his head by his hands on the table. "That monster was still me, though."

Ishizu's eyes flashed. She grabbed Marik's hands, making sure his surprised face and hers aligned. "You are not he. You are separate entities and minds. Marik, you are a normal and understanding being who accidentally fed a monster. The things you had done still had traces of him, traces of his unmatched anger and fury. Since he has left you, you are solely Marik, the one who has not experienced his childhood."

"But I created him, not just fed him. I created him from _me_, sister!" Marik's voice raised to match his temper. The blond shivered with a feeling of malice that had been almost forgotten, yet still all too familiar.

"Because, sadly, you needed him. I did not protect you. I failed you, and that monster came and made everything worse." Ishizu turned away, unsure how to keep herself leveled with her guilt and regret rising. "Before that monster came, you were a sweet, gentle, curious, and _innocent_child. You hardly gave into your anger, but that anger grew in its unfair repression, and Odion and I should have noticed it much sooner. The monster is gone, and you really have reverted to your own mindset. Even when you thought you were in control, you were never completely yourself with that blood luster inside your subconscious."

"You didn't fail me. You did all you could to help me, looking past all the evils I committed. You helped save me. But sister, now I . . ." Marik bit his lips, expression pained. "I feel anger again - the worthless kind that comes unprovoked and pained. It's in my heart, and I don't know why. Nothing has changed, nothing is upsetting, nothing should be wrong!"

"Brother," Ishizu said firmly. "Brother, you are mistaken. Something, though seemingly small, has happened."

Marik glared at her despite his care for his sister. The blond needed her to continue, and her hesitation annoyed him. "_What_?"

"Ryo came yesterday. He mentioned the dark part of you, and not long after you began looking unwell."

"But what the hell would Ryo have to do with this?! I've talked to you and Odion about my darker half before and felt fine afterward! I've come across Ryo countless times on the street and talked to him without being so damn _angry_. Why is this _different_?!" Marik curled his hands into fist. Though Ishizu knew he had no intention to strike, her serene eyes glazed with slight fear.

"Let us leave, brother. You have not left this place since before Ryo came. I believe something awaits us." Ishizu presented Marik with one of her soft, rare smiles. Hesitantly, Marik replied with his own unusual peaceful expressions. "Let us not plan where to go. We should let the wind guide out feet to where we need to arrive. Agreed?"

"Yes, yes, Ishizu. You normally understand these situations more." Marik walked past her to open the door for her to exit first. She nodded at him for the kind gesture, and he stepped out after her. "Thank you, Ishizu."

•••

The park was warm and busy, full of squabbling children and tired-looking parents out playing in the bright, hot sunshine. Kek looked suspiciously among the normal park goers, his vast form and overdramatic cloak making him a noticeable figure in the crowd. Ryo juxtaposed beside him looking oddly-matched, and the two received many questioning looks from the people they passed.

Ryo could not hold back a slight smile at Kek's confused expression. He walked a little closer by Kek's huge side, tempted to reach out and knock their hands together, but stopped himself knowing the other would probably throttle him for trying something like that. Instead, Ryo settled for starting a conversation. "What do you think of life outside the shadows so far?"

Kek growled low in his throat, his dark violet eyes narrowing. His gaze swept over the park as he considered his answer, taking in the hoards of people out relaxing on the summer day, couples entwined beneath trees, children playing tag and hopscotch, parents relaxing on a picnic blanket. His lips pursed. "It all just seems ... pointless. Where's the fun in this?" Kek meant the question full heartedly, though that never gave Ryo a real opinion. Experiencing so many colors and hearing so many sounds baffled the angry blond, and he could not help himself from being a little happy to experience something other than shadows, even if he hated the experience.

"You really don't think it's fun?" Ryo was a little saddened. Brown eyes dipped a bit, pale hands linking nervously as Ryo looked about him, wondering if there was anything here that his huge shadowy charge would find amusing. Ryo was not completely sure why Kek's happiness mattered so much to him; all he knew was that he wanted Kek to enjoy what little time he had left out of the shadows.

Gaining an idea, Ryo took hold of Kek's hand without thinking and began tugging him forward. Kek stopped short, digging his heels in and sending Ryo a dark, heavy glare, his brows dangerously low over his eyes as his lips settled into a straight line. Ryo almost flinched when he looked back and met such a dark expression.

"I have an idea," Ryo explained, walking hesitantly back to Kek's side, their hands still joined. "You'll enjoy this."

Kek's nose wrinkled. "I highly doubt that. Everything in this fucking realm is boring – the shadows themselves were more interesting than this." That claim, however partially true, was the first lie Kek had ever told. An emotion he never knew before leaving the shadows gnawed at his pride and told him the words. Kek never completely understood why people lied, and he looked at Ryo a little contently, knowing that the smaller male interested him.

"What is it?" he asked, slightly admitting that his curiosity was piqued.

"It's a surprise. You're just going to have to trust me and give it a chance." Ryo could feel himself getting flustered, Kek's obstinate attitude only driving Ryo further to attempt to prove him wrong. He determinedly walked forward, tugging Kek along behind him. "Come with me."

"You aren't exactly giving me much choice," Kek growled, but he pulled his hand out of Ryo's and instead strode along beside him, cloak flaring in the strong winds. Kek was getting a little hot, but he stubbornly refused to accept that Ryo had been correct about his clothing choice earlier. Besides, he liked the cloak. Growling threateningly, Kek turned to the puny white male at his side. "What the hell are you trying to show me?"

Ryo, unperturbed, smiled up at him. "We're going to have a nice day under the sun, and I am going to show you that not all life is pointless."

"Good luck with that one," Kek snorted. His dark violet eyes flashed as Ryo continued to lead him forward, nose wrinkling at the pathetic attempts of the people to enjoy themselves. "Gods, you're all so boring!"

"If you keep saying that, I'll send you straight back to the shadows," Ryo threatened half-heartedly, rubbing his still-aching head. He wandered through the park, ensuring to keep

Kek by his side. Ryo did not miss the flares of anger in those dark violet eyes. "What's wrong with you now?"

"This is stupid," Kek snarled. "Of all your stupid, ridiculous ideas, this is the most stupid and ridiculous of all."

Ryo heaved a hefty sigh. "Calm down. You'll like this bit."

"I highly doubt that."

Ryo snorted softly, one hand curling around Kek's cloak to lead him onward. They soon reached the place Ryo was after – an ice-cream stall. Kek's features creased in confusion. "The fuck is this?"

"Ice cream. I figured you wouldn't have had it before." Ryo grinned a little as they joined the queue, stealing sly glances at Kek's face. The tanned features were confused, anger still evident behind them, but curiosity definitely gleamed in the dark violet depths of his eyes. This is what Ryo had wanted; to show Kek the simple, small pleasures life held, to let him experience life outside of the shadows, even if it were only short lived. No one deserved to spend eternity locked away.

Kek's jaw set as their spot in the line edged nearer the front. He watched, brows furrowing, when a small child collected a cone and licked away happily, bright grin lighting up his features. Kek's fingers flexed. "The hell is that?"

"You'll see." Ryo was enthralled by Kek's reactions, watching with an obscure pleasure as the once inhuman creature was reduced to humanity's most notable state: confusion. It was soon their turn and Ryo bought two cones, passing one to Kek and giving his own a quick lick, the ice cream refreshingly cool against his hot tongue. "Come on, give it a try!"

Kek's brow furrowed, holding the cone awkwardly. "This is stupid."

"You haven't even tried it yet." Ryo was growing increasingly more infuriated. Reaching out and tangling pale fingers in Kek's cloak, Ryo tugged determinedly, leading them away from the open part of the park and into the wood, where he seated himself under a tree. Ryo determinedly patted the ground next to him, glaring up at Kek. "Sit here."

"It's dirty," was Kek's stubborn response.

Ryo drew in a deep breath, licking his ice cream to keep himself calm. Dealing with Kek never failed to give him a headache. "You're the one who is so bored. Just sit down and eat your ice cream. You will like it, trust me."

Kek's jaw clicked as he moved it around, glaring down at Ryo with furious dark eyes. With Ryo seated on the ground and Kek remaining standing, the difference in height between the two was vast. Ryo almost felt threatened as he gazed up at the enormous monster glaring down at him. Blond hair stuck up in unruly spikes, the purple cloak flaring back from his shoulders striking a dramatic image against the trees. Ryo shivered.

Kek stared at him for another moment before sinking down to the ground and sprawling out against the tree trunk, giving Ryo a pointed shove. "Move, then. You have to make space for me if you're so keen to be out with me."

"Of course," Ryo responded meekly, obediently shifting over a little and taking another lick of his ice cream. He watched with fascination as Kek lifted the cone to his lips, his tongue poking out tentatively, swiping messily at the ice cream.

Kek's face screwed up. "Fuck, that's cold!"

Ryo could not stifle the giggles that rose to his lips, his free hand covering his mouth as he chortled as quietly as he could.

Kek caught his laughter and turned with eyes flashing dangerously, leaning threateningly over Ryo. "The fuck do you think you're doing?"

"J-just eat the cone," Ryo managed to gasp, sidling back a little and grinning widely. "Cold is good on a day like today, especially wrapped in that ridiculous cloak as you are.*

Kek glowered dangerously so Ryo backed off a little, biting into his own cone. Kek followed suit, continuing to lap suspiciously at the cream until a small smile adorned his mouth. It was cool and soothing down his throat, entirely different to anything Kek had ever experienced before. Times like this were certainly far removed from the shadows.

"You're missing a bit."

Ryo leaned over closer to Kek, his own cone now completely gone. He placed a finger to the tip of Kek's ice cream, catching a dribble of white that had dripped down from where Kek licked too vigorously. He placed it in his own mouth, his arm brushing Kek's as he settled by the purple-cloaked form.

Kek stared down at him, brows furrowed a little.

Ryo glanced up, resting his chin on Kek's shoulder as he met his eyes. "Is this ok?"

Kek remained silent, his lips pursing slightly. His innate reaction was to shove Ryo away and pounce on him, running a knife along his pale skin and torturing him to a slow and painful death, but his body told him something different. Kek could not deny the fact that there was something inherently _pleasant_ about the warm weight curled against his side.

Kek turned away, disgruntled. "Damn white pipsqueak, you're turning me soft!"

Ryo merely chuckled, and settled a little closer.

Kek licked at his ice cream again, biting down the cone and devouring it in a quick snap of his jaws. Ryo smiled when he had finished, daring to rest his head on Kek's shoulder as Ryo spoke. "I'm guessing you enjoyed that, then?"

". . . It wasn't as awful as the stuff you've fed me with so far," Kek admitted begrudgingly, throwing his legs out in front of him and settling back against the tree trunk.

Ryo scooted a little closer, the corners of his lips twitching upward. "Don't complain about my food, Kek, it's all you're going to get."

"Fucking idiot." Kek swiped at Ryo's head, cuffing him none-too-gently. Ryo winced. Kek laughed maliciously, leaning back against the tree. "Your food is better than eating shadows for millennia at any rate."

Ryo quietened considerably on hearing that analogy, his bottom lip catching between his teeth. The ever-present drain in the back of his mind was a constant reminder that Kek's time in the world of the living was limited, a thought which saddened Ryo immensely. The knowledge that he would have to banish the complex creature by his side back to a fate of endless darkness tugged at his heartstrings.

Ryo was determined to make Kek's time in the sun as enjoyable as he could.

Kek noticed Ryo's mood change and prodded him in the side, glaring down at him. "Hey. Entertain me. That's your job, right?"

Ryo rolled his eyes, snorting softly as he rested against Kek's shoulder. "I am not your servant, much as you may like me to be."

"I will cut you," Kek threatened.

Ryo shook his head, one corner of his mouth lifting into a dark smirk. "We've been through this. You can't damage me, because if I am weakened then you will end up back in the shadows sooner than you thought."

"I'm never going back there," Kek growled adamantly. His brows knitted tightly together, dark frown turning his mouth downward and adding a dangerous gleam to his violet eyes.

Ryo sighed, shifting uncomfortably. His eyes slid closed as he remained resting on Kek's shoulder. "I can't keep you here indefinitely. I've been struggling every moment, Kek, no matter how hard I try. I'm not strong enough."

"So get fucking stronger." Kek's tone was dark, a tinge of almost-panic behind it.

Ryo also caught the hurt in Kek's voice, and he turned his head, hands on Kek's face so their eyes met. Ryo wanted Kek to understand that no matter what, he wanted the other to be in the world of the living as he deserved to be. "I . . . can't."

Kek growled low in his throat, so Ryo hastened to add, "It isn't just a question of strength, Kek. I only have a limited amount of shadow magic, and I'm using it all up to keep you here. When it runs out, any remnants of the magic will fade." Ryo looked down in anguish, hands falling from Kek's face as they clenched in his lap. "I have no way to keep you here without the shadow magic, so you'll be sent back." Ryo jerked his head up quickly, almost hitting Kek's own glowering figure, with an expression of only deep guilt and pain in his eyes. "This isn't some banishment! This is the fact that I really can't let you stay, no matter how much I try to keep you here, or how much I want you to remain!"

Kek stared back at him before standing with a roar, swirling around and smashing his fist into the tree trunk behind them, causing the vast plant to tremble like a wisp in a hurricane. Ryo stared, wide-eyed, as Kek punched it again and again, the bark scraping against his knuckles as he shouted to the sky. "I will _not_ go back there! I do not deserve a life in the shadows, it isn't _my_ fault a child was abused and created me! Why the fuck should I have to pay for other people's mistakes?! If I weren't sent there in the first place, this wouldn't have happened!"

Ryo listened in resigned sadness. Slowly, he clambered to his feet and laid a white hand on Kek's shoulder, not moving an inch when Kek turned and snarled at him, fists balled dangerously.

"You're right," Ryo explained quietly, their gazes locked on each other. "It isn't fair. I just can't keep you here forever."

Kek's shoulders sagged a little, but he remained furious. "Then fucking find a way. Find a way and don't let me go."

"I really don't want you to go," Ryo breathed softly.

Kek's features screwed up. He stared in confusion down at Ryo, blond spikes wild as he pursed his lips. "You don't want me to go? Why the fuck not?! You only summoned me by accident in the first place!"

"I know," Ryo explained softly, sitting back down on the ground and patting the place beside him. Kek sat without complaint this time, fixing Ryo with a firm look. Ryo continued. "It _was_ an accident, but never would I call it a mistake, Kek! I was already sympathetic toward you. I have never found it fair that you were banished. You never got the chance to experience what life is really like, so that's what I am trying to give you now. I'm just sorry I won't be able to keep you here for longer. I don't to regret having had you here at all, just as I don't want you to regret this even if it is teasingly fleeting."

Kek continued to stare at Ryo, his features slowly shifting into an unreadable expression. His dark violet eyes were swirling with emotions Ryo found impossible to place, and Ryo's own aching head was not helping matters. Ryo closed his eyes and leaned back against Kek's shoulder, massaging his temples. He released a low groan.

"Does it hurt?"

The question surprised Ryo, his brown eyes widening slightly. Kek's tone was carefully neutral, but when Ryo tipped his head up he saw dark violet eyes searing straight into his. Kek's head tilted curiously, and he prodded Ryo's side. "Well?"

" . . . A little." Ryo sagged back against Kek's shoulder, closing his eyes.

Kek stayed silent for a moment longer. "Where?"

"Hmm?" Ryo looked back up, frowning.

Kek stared at him, eyes unreadable. "Where does it hurt?"

"Um . . . " Ryo swallowed before lifting one pale hand to his forehead. "Here, mostly."

Kek nodded slowly. Ryo settled back against him, starting a little when two vast tanned hands attached themselves to his head. Kek kept Ryo's head firmly against his shoulder while his other hand went to Ryo's forehead, massaging it forcefully, but not painfully. Ryo blinked in surprise.

"Don't fucking speak," Kek growled, continuing to dig his fingers into pale skin. "I have to put up with enough of your whining."

Ryo held back a smile as he allowed his eyes to slide closed, leaning comfortably against Kek and allowing him to wipe away the headache.

•••

Marik was thankful to be already dressed in a short sleeved shirt and light khakis, while Ishizu dressed in her many light layers in the hot sun. The two walked to the local park to ease Marik's nature, enjoying the breeze and forms of happy life surrounding them. The sun rained down its warmth in the late morning, and Marik soaked in the day contently.

The anger actually increased tenfold since nearing the park, but Marik could repress it to enjoy nature and the happy people surrounding him. After being denied even imagining what a tree looked like during his childhood stuck in a cave, and then later being free only with the thought to kill and destroy, Marik made sure to keep his rage down for the rare times he could find himself in an enjoyable place.

Ishizu walked beside Marik, glancing at his form every few moments and noting the small hints of rising anger and peace in his bright violet eyes. "Has this pleased you, brother?"

"I think so. I still have unreasonable fury in me, and it's growing stronger, but I can keep it at bay here." Marik sighed and paused his step. "I just want to know why it's increasing."

"We will find out, brother. Have faith that everything will make sense for you soon. Let us go away from the people; go to the trees, instead." The wise woman chose the nature path when she and her brother met a divide in the trail, and Marik wordlessly followed.

People cleared away from the path often to find refuge in the trees and bushes for their own private enjoyment, but still an occasional person biked ahead or walked behind the two siblings. Marik's steps slowed when his head started to throb, feeling a great fury in the back of his mind, and he visibly winced from an unannounced sadness. The two painful emotions devoured Marik's will to move, and he fell to his knees, angered and wounded for unknown reasons.

Ishizu instantly kneeled by his side, not caring about the dirt on her dress or curious stares from a few hikers. Her intuition felt the same feelings as Marik, but not as directly or intensely. Her hard blue eyes peered around for any disturbance, and she narrowed them when she knew the only solution was simply to leave. "Brother, wrap your arm around my shoulder, we shall try to walk home."

Marik did so weakly, supporting most of his weight as best he could while using Ishizu as someone to help guide his heavy feet. The farther the two walked, the better Marik seemed. Ishizu could not bring herself to tell her brother what she had vaguely seen, knowing it would send him raging in his own, personal fury. Enough shadows darkened the park that day

* * *

**_You're lovely readers, and thanks for sticking around! You're reviews are/have been/will always be loved! ^.^_**

**_Also, Grey got a fresh batch of quenepas. They're in seasons, go get some while you can (if you live in Florida or some other places that be get them) because Grey.  
_**_Also, to mention Jem's life, she finally realized she doesn't live in a round house. ^.^ Aaaaand, she's going to that joke thrown in here. ^.^;_


	6. Chapter 6

**So here weusp are again with another chapter! Grey and I are doing our best to get this out regularly, but we are both dealing with stuff at the moment so writing is a little slow hehe. We will do our best, though, because we love this story. Grey is a plot genius. Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing, it really makes our day to read them! And because I can't let a chapter go without teasing Grey, why is it that American English drops the 'u' in 'colour' and 'flavour', but keeps it in 'suspicious' and 'imperious'? How does that make any sense? :P - Jem **

_I pronounce color with an o sound. I pronounce suspicious with a u sound. Jem is incredibly slow sometimes. Like the time I told her America doesn't have "roundabouts" because we just have a guy pointing at directions for cars at intersections. OH! And for this story, I think she died a little when I said it would have angstshipping when I wrote my half of the first chapter. I was just "Yeah, Marik and Ryo are talking right now. Marik's defnitely longing for Ryo's soft touch."_

_But yeah. This is a deathshipping story, and I made that very obvious to her beforehand. Thiefshipping has to happen for plot reasons, too.  Deeply sorry if that's not your thing! I'm adding it purely for plot-turning reasons! so sorry! Dx_

* * *

The heavy door closed with a thud after Ryo and Kek entered the apartment. Ryo had at first believed that the two would not stay at the park for long, despite what he told Kek, but both males fell asleep under the tree until past noon. The two needed a peaceful nap from the late night and early morning. Being so caught up in the closeness of each other felt so _right_ and peaceful that neither tried to swat away the sandman's spell when the dust hit their drooping eyes.

The needed nap came with consequences, though. Sleeping out under the heat of the midday sun clearly damaged both of their skins, changing the color and adding painful itching. Looking at Kek's only slightly darkened bronze skinned filled Ryo with red envy, as his own pale cheeks colored burning red from the unfiltered sun. Kek laughed an entire five minutes when Ryo had first woken him from his peaceful sleep, and the poor red-faced young man remained clueless as to why until he felt the slight sting.

"Hell, you look ridiculous!" Kek had chortled endlessly, his lips stretched wide into an amused laugh deeply uncharacteristic of his usual dark tones.

Ryo had glared right back, his lips drawing into a thin line as his white hair fell about his features; a stark contrast to the burned crisp of red that marked his cheeks. "So I got sunburned. That is not so hilarious to me, Kek."

Kek paid no mind to Ryo's angry countenance. Ryo obviously scolded the wild man for his annoying laughing, but secretly the calmer male liked the sound. Though it was at someone's expense, the laugh was hearty and good natured in a way, tickling Ryo until both males laughed into the previously still air of the park. To hear a sound of genuine, not-quite sadistic joy from the dark male's lips paid a price of Ryo's permanently blushing face, but that seemed to be a fair bargain. Seeing Kek with an even more handsome tan also had a deep appeal.

Loud peals of laughter echoed all the way back to their home, Ryo's lips drawing thinner and thinner the longer Kek's amusement lasted. When they reached the front door, Ryo unlocked it angrily and stormed straight in, uncaring as to whether or not Kek followed him for he knew without a doubt that the former monster would have no place else to go. Making straight for the bathroom, Ryo left the door open and hovered in front of the mirror, grimacing when he saw how truly red his skin was. That was sure to be painful in the morning.

With a low sigh, Ryo dug into his cabinets and found the after-sun cream, pouring a generous amount onto his palm and beginning to rub soothing ointment into the red, but not too painful burns. The cream would do nothing to help the new color of his skin, and as such would not stop Kek's laughter, but at least it should help to ease the sting a little.

"What are you doing?"

Ryo was hardly surprised to hear amusement still apparent in Kek's tone, so there was a glare in his brown eyes as he turned them on the vast being. Kek was leaning in the doorway, his arms folded as he ran his gaze down Ryo's slim, cream-cover form.

Ryo sighed loudly, and turned back to the mirror. "I'm treating my burns. What does it look like?"

"Looks like your dabbing bird shit on your skin," Kek responded matter-of-factly.

Ryo winced at the crass wording, shooting Kek a hard stare. "It helps with the pain. You should use some, too. Just because you tan rather than burn doesn't make your skin any less damaged."

Kek scowled. "I'm not putting bird shit anywhere near me."

Ryo could not hold back a grin, despite his current annoyance with Kek's earlier annoyance. He felt the corners of his mouth twitch as he lifted one hand, beckoning Kek closer. "Come here. You can put the cream on the back of my neck, and then I'll do you."

Kek still looked suspicious.

"It's easy." Ryo smiled a little. "No need to be hesitant. Unless you're scared?"

"The fuck am I scared of some crappy little cream," Kek growled. He stalked over, snatched the bottle from Ryo, and squirted a whole load into his hand.

Ryo smiled, pulling his long hair over one shoulder so that Kek could reach the red skin on the back of his neck. "Just rub it into the red bits until you can't see the cream anymore. And go gently; it's a little painful."

"Good. It's payback for you dragging me out into the sun," Kek glowered. "You deserve pain after that." However, when brown hands touched Ryo's red skin, they moved with surprisingly light touches, gently massaging the cool, soothing cream into the burned skin. Ryo sighed and leaned forward, pulling his hair further out of the way so as to avoid the messy cream.

Kek worked with pursed lips, his fingers so close to Ryo's neck. It would be so easy to snap the fragile bones before him, scrape nails through the almost translucent skin, causing red blood to die the white hair dark. But it was Ryo. Ryo could not succumb to such simple violence, not when Kek was dependent on him and finally starting to feel a little human. So Kek continued his light touches, unwillingly grumbling to himself that actually, the motions were not unpleasant. To be close to Ryo never felt unpleasant.

"I think you're done." Ryo spoke softly, reluctant to move but knowing Kek needed attention too. He moved forwards and spun around, meeting Kek's dark violet eyes with a small smile. His skin felt much cooler, although it tingled where Kek had touched it.

"Turn around," Ryo commanded, taking hold of the bottle of after-sun cream once again and tapping his foot imperiously. "And crouch down. I have to get to your neck."

Kek scowled. "I'm not even burnt!"

"You're much darker than you were before we went out," Ryo shook his head. "Just because you don't go red doesn't make you any better off than me. Now turn around and get down here. And _stay still."_

Kek grumbled loudly at the commanding tone, but obediently sank down a little and begrudgingly allowed Ryo to attend to him. Ryo brushed aside long spikes of blond hair, marvelling a little at the surprising softness of the strands, before his long fingers attacked the brown neck. Kek chewed his lip as Ryo rubbed cooling cream into his skin, reluctant to admit just how soothing the small male's touch was. Ryo worked quietly, his fingers softly massaging Kek's neck until the cream was all rubbed in.

"Turn back around," Ryo commanded softly, smiling a little when Kek obeyed without a word. Ryo gently took hold of one exposed arm and slowly rubbed Kek's skin, avoiding eye contact as he moved. Kek watched him with narrowed violet eyes, standing unnaturally still and breathing slowly, his mind almost frozen. Ryo's fingers on his skin sent strange tingles sparking through his veins. The feelings were so far removed from his experience in the shadows that Kek was not entirely sure how to react.

Ryo soon finished Kek's arms and pushed Kek down onto the toilet seat in order to reach his face. Kek looked a little alarmed when Ryo first advanced with the cream. "The fuck are you doing now? I'm not eating that!"

Ryo had to stifle a laugh. "I know, Kek. Your face will be burned, too. Close your eyes."

Kek stared suspiciously. He was required to trust Ryo, and trusting any human was still an alien concept, but Ryo had done enough for him already. Kek pursed his lips and closed his eyes, making no more complaints.

Ryo approached slowly, fingers once more coated with cream, and lightly dabbed at Kek's cheek. Kek flinched a little but remained obediently still, his hands gripping onto the edge of the seat and his arms locking with tension. Ryo worked to soothe him as he continued to rub in the cream. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You couldn't even if you wanted to," Kek scoffed harshly. "I am far superior to you. I could snap your neck in seconds."

"Not if you want to stay here, and you wouldn't anyway," Ryo admonished quietly, continuing to work.

Kek stopped speaking after hearing Ryo's words, his lips pursing and brows furrowing over his closed lids. Ryo could still feel the tension and sighed, making his touches lighter. His thumb brushed under Kek's left eye, gently stroking the brown skin, as Ryo attempted to show through actions rather than words his regrets. He really did not want to lose Kek to the shadows again, but he could not see any way out of the situation. The constant ache in the back of his head was growing stronger by the hour.

Kek kept his eyes closed under Ryo's ministrations, waiting for the pale man to finish rubbing cream into his skin. He had to admit that he felt much cooler.

Ryo finished and dropped his hand from Ryo's face, watching his expression with resigned sadness. Kek's eyes opened slowly, their dark violet depths raw, and Ryo's chest twinged a little at the pain hidden in his expression. Kek did not want to return to the shadows. It was painfully obvious, but it remained unspoken between them, as they both sat silent in the bathroom.

That was, until Kek's eyes widened in sudden realization.

"Shit!" the blond exclaimed, shocking the other male from his dark musings.

"What is it now, Kek?" Ryo asked in an almost parental tone.

"We never went anywhere but the park! Asshole, you said you'd get me a knife!" Much against the vocabulary used, Kek sounded and almost looked like an overgrown child who had been promised a treat after dinner only to be sent straight to bed.

"Oh," Ryo uttered a bit disinterestedly. "Did I honestly _promise_ to get you one, or did I tell you that I may? I highly doubt I would make a promise for something like that. Besides, I said if you did get one that you can't use it."

Kek regarded Ryo with the utmost irritated and wounded look he had ever given. "Ha, you're right. After all, how much time would I even have to use a knife anyway? A month? A minute? This entire damn place will just become a misconstrued, contorted memory once I return to the shadows."

Ryo's body went slack. Though the better part of him said not to reply to the despondent rhetorical question, Ryo wanted to be as honest as he could with Kek. "Maybe a few days. Maybe less."

The air hung heavy. Kek snarled before standing and turning away from Ryo, and the smaller male could not help but miss their fleeting moments at the park. As a way of doing what words always failed to do when involving Kek, Ryo approached the large, seething male, and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Thanks for today, Kek," the smaller male murmured as he buried his burned cheeks into the broad back. "How about I make us lunch for now, and we can go out and find anything at all you'd like as a treat for not killing anyone today?"

"Humph. I get a treat for not getting in trouble with the law and troubling this lame society? Damn, what a great system for me. I could stay with you forever," Kek spat with an eye roll.

"Haha, very funny." Ryo snorted softly, his face still buried in Kek's cloaked back. "Nice to know you can still be snappy after that stunt in the park. Who knew you could be emotional?"

Kek tensed. "Shut it. It's not like I . . . Whatever."

"No, what were you saying? What's wrong, Kek?" Ryo reach a hand to grab one of Kek's, and the blond did not pull away. "Kek?"

Kek turned and leered at the other, not sure how to put into words all the annoying feelings in him. "You know, when I go back to the shadows, I won't have a name. I don't age or have a real form. My consciousness will blend with the rest of it, and I meant it when I said my memories of here will probably just fade away or morph."

"But what about all those other memories from before?" Ryo tilted his head, pursing his lips in confusion. "Battle City, the Blimp, Marik's thoughts . . ."

"Those were hardly mine. Those were shadowed memories to begin with, already accustomed to the darkness." Kek's expression dimmed and distanced. "My time in Battle City past hardly a few days, and I honestly don't remember much besides wanting to destroy all hope in life. Heh, apparently that's a bad thing, and I realized hope is something I clung to when I was in the shadows. Funny that I never knew what that emotion was until I came back." Kek glanced at the floor before back at Ryo, eyes noticeably softer in rage. "I didn't have a lot of emotions until I came back."

Ryo laughed, softly but earnestly. The pale, slightly pink, hand released Kek's own tan one, but Ryo still kept the other in place by his gaze. "So you really don't just feel anger and sadistic joy. Kek, you're so human it hurts. I wish I could just give you a world of all the best emotions and feelings and experiences. Any human deserves that much."

"You know, I guess you're right," Kek admitted with an empty chuckle. "Spent so much time trying to kill humans and shit, but I'm like any other damn mortal. I'm not god; I'm weak, and the shadows definitely teach you that. You teach me that." Kek began to leer at Ryo once more. "I feel so damn _weak_ around you! You're a tiny pipsqueak, but you hold me here with little to no effort! It isn't just because you're the one holding my fate, either, and I don't understand this fucking feeling at all!"

Ryo knitted his white brows together, mouth agape as he processed Kek's small confession. Kek continued to speak before Ryo could say anything. "Maybe the shadows mellowed me out a bit more than I realized. Not that I . . . I don't particularly mind. I like feeling more emotions. I like being human more than a shadow. Fucking shadows."

Ryo wrapped his arms around Kek, noting how vivid his heart beat and how cozy his warmth felt. "You make a great human, Kek." Ryo's grip tightened, cementing Kek by his side. Instead of trying to look at Kek, Ryo dipped his head a bit lower and nuzzled his burned cheeks onto the wide chest. As ironic as it could be when hugging a psychopath, Ryo had never felt safer, nor more secure, than when Kek's strong arms coiled around his thin frame.

Kek hurt inside. The blond sighed as one hand went to stroke Ryo's soft but slightly tangled white hair, and another hand rubbed his back. Feeling and knowing Ryo brought Kek an ease he had never known prior, even when dueling and confident in his skills, but knowing everything would wither as a memory _hurt_. As much as Kek protested that he never deserved to be sent into the hellish realm, he eventually understood why it needed to be done. Kek had acted like a fiend, sending others to that dark place for sick _fun_, and thought himself invincible. In almost every religion, the biggest sin was to acknowledge anything mortal as god or godly, so Kek knew he needed to repent. The shadows quite thoroughly gave him hell, and knowing Ryo's heavenly presence would fade away caused more anguish than being sent to the shadows in the first place.

Kek realized that he certainly was not the same being who had been sent away the first time, and despite his desire to still cause mayhem and destruction, he could not find a good reason for why he deserved to suffer like the him of before. Kek's grip on Ryo increased tenfold as he thought about how much he needed to stay.

Kek only wanted to be human just a little more.

That was a gift Ryo could never reward him, despite any amount of good deeds.

•••

Marik lay on his bed, resting with Ishizu at his side. His violet eyes were covered by his tan eyelids, and his back turned to Ishizu as he faced the wall. Thankfully his body felt lighter, but the light throbbing of pain and unease never completely ceased. That only made Marik all the more angry.

"Sister, I'm never trusting you again," Marik moaned as he clutched his head. "Going out proved nothing but how weak I am!"

The older sibling sighed and shook her head, though Marik still did not face her. "Brother," she started, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Marik, you are unwell for a now clear reason. I simply . . . I fear your reaction if I tell you, but I know I must."

Marik twisted his body enough to see Ishizu standing, eyes brimming with worry and secrecy. He frowned. "Well?"

Ishizu twisted her hands, sighing. "Brother, may I remind you now that you are very weak. You are not to do anything that would cause you strain or anguish, no matter how this news upsets you."

"I'm _already_ in pain and anger, especially by your lack of telling me!" the blond seethed as he flipped himself upright on the bed.

The two siblings locked gazes for a tense moment. Ishizu had never been one to be tactless, though she always kept a harsh sense of reality. Marik never gripped negative realities well, but only responded to the plain and coherent. Cobalt met violet, but neither could start speaking all that needed to be said; at least, not in the best terminology for the other.

"I am thankful you are already sitting down for the news I will tell you," Ishizu awkwardly started in a foreign attempt to lighten the mood. The woman drew in an unusually shaky breath, pained that she had to deliver such shattering news to her ill prepared brother. Most of Ishizu knew that she could simply not tell Marik what she had seen, pretend her eyes misconstrued the scene, but her faithful intuition knew that course would never benefit anyone.

"Ishizu," Marik pleaded, voice aching with desperation.

"A beast you know too well has returned." The statement remained cryptic enough to still be gentle, but obvious enough to reach through Marik's stubbornness.

For another long moment of silence, the two remained mostly statuesque. Ishizu stood near her brother by the bed, and Marik sat frozen in shock. His eyes widened while his body leaned down slightly, not handling the weight of the situation. Marik's breathing was shallow, and one could barely even tell he was truly alive if not for a faint rise of his shoulders, and the small tear that fell onto the carpet near the two pairs of feet.

"What?!"

•••

Ryo stood by the stove for the second time that day, much more at ease than he had been at first. His pink lips formed a gentle smile while red-brown lips pursed in frustration.

"It's fucking smoking again!" Kek bellowed while desperately trying to scrape brown meat off a burning pan.

For the third time within the past hour the smoke detector sounded, and Ryo was tempted to completely dismantle the annoying device. Still, the smaller male reached up to shut it off once more, and gripped the pan handle for himself. "I took my eyes off you for _one second!_" Ryo exasperated.

"Please, it was more like a minute!" Kek retorted with crossed arms and challenging eyes.

"That is still not a reasonable amount of time to almost burn down my house! There's simply no teaching you how to cook! We've been wasting our time!" Ryo threw his hands in the air when the pan lessened its smoking. "I'll get us Chinese takeout. Have you had that before?"

Kek shrugged and shook his head.

"Good. You're getting whatever's cheapest. I think I need to save for a new pan." Despite sounding still a bit annoyed, after letting the situation really sink it, Ryo's gentle smile returned. Once everything cooled enough, Ryo poked at the food with a fork. "Actually, this looks completely edible despite it all. Not a bad third attempt."

"Damn straight! Nothing escapes my know-how! Well, not often at least. Not after a few tries," Kek admitted with another shrug. His situation never left his thoughts, but the little things Ryo did to teach him how to be normal and happy worked on a small scale. Others' pain gave Kek his only real happiness, and _never_ would Kek want to be one of those dreadfully _normal_ people, but Ryo's attempt at humanizing did work small wonders.

"Heh, I guess. If we have time, maybe you'll get even better. Just make sure you don't do anything when I'm not around, okay?" Ryo blew on a piece of the cooked meat and bit into it gleefully. Surprisingly, it definitely tasted pretty _decent_. Ryo held it out toward Kek. "Try it."

Kek obeyed, opening his mouth for Ryo to put in a forkful of his failed cooking attempt. His features screwed up. "I hope you still order that take-out," Kek grunted plainly, not loving the blackened meat as much as the ice cream, but not hating it like the eggs from that morning.

"Heh, fine." Ryo grabbed the phone from the other room, and called a familiar Chinese restaurant. He ordered two of his usual platters of noodles, orange chicken, and 20 sweet dumplings. Ryo always left a little room in his stomach for his sweets and meats.

While he ordered the food, Kek managed to turn on both the TV and satellite, and landed one of the movie channels. Ryo could not even remember the last program he watched, but _Les Misérables_ played sometime during the middle of the movie with Cossette in the woods. Ryo attempted to change the channel, but the feral growl from Kek warned him to do otherwise. Inwardly, the smaller male cringed, definitely not accustomed to such long musicals, but he could appreciate the class and symbolism of the film. Also, enough people died and bled to keep him entertained.

"What is this movie about?" Kek asked, completely lost from missing the beginning.

"Er, revolution in France. It's not _the_ French Revolution, but it makes for a decent musical," Ryo replied as the people of the barricade began to arise.

Kek frowned. "What's the French Revolution?"

Ryo chuckled to himself lightly. "Next, you'll ask who the French are, huh?"

"I guess," Kek replied with a shrug. "Are they people?"

Ryo laughed louder, if not slightly in discomfort. "Yes, they are a type of people. Like your being Egyptian. It's a nationality."

Kek furrowed his blond brows, irritated by all he did not know. "People can go fuck themselves if they think they're special enough to be categorized so specifically. Why do there have to be different types? I mean, everyone annoys me the same way, dies the same way, rots the same way. People are merely people," Kek observed with great disdain evident in his voice.

"You find me as annoying as anyone else, huh?" Ryo inquired with half lidded eyes and raised brows.

"You're not a _people_, fool. You're . . ." Kek left the comment at that. Kek could never consider Ryo on the same plane as people. Ryo did not annoy the blond the same way, and the thought of Ryo dying and rotting physically _hurt_Kek.

The doorbell rang before Kek could find a good word, and Ryo grabbed a twenty from his wallet. Sure enough, the food had arrived, hot and fresh. Ryo set the containers across the table in front of the TV for himself and Kek. The teen broke apart two chopsticks, and began his sloppy consumption.

Kek appeared disoriented. The blond awkwardly held the two chopsticks in one hand, and the noodles slipped through every time. Impatient as ever, Kek tossed the container back on the table with a huff, and glared at the still playing movie.

Sighing, Ryo put down his own food to grab Kek's instead. A pale hand reached for Kek's bronze one, and put the chopsticks back in them. "You just stab the chicken like so," Ryo instructed while he guided Kek to the unsuspecting piece of food. "And while the sticky chicken is there, you have to twirl around the chopsticks in your noodles until they stay on." Some noodle sauce splayed onto the table, but after a few messy twirls, Kek's chopsticks held quite the mouthful of food.

Kek enjoyed the rich, exotic flavors, tangy but smooth, and took another overwhelming bite as Ryo showed him how. To get as much as he could in one go, Kek wrapped his snake-like tongue around the food to guide it all into his mouth. Ryo gulped when he saw the long muscle extended from its usual prison, surprised Kek ever released the slick beast whenever he was not laughing maniacally. Still, the blond seemed to handle himself well, and Ryo focused back into his own plentiful meal.

Eventually Kek grew annoyed with not actually understanding the plot and singing of the film while they finished the last of the dumplings, and Ryo changed it to a foreign film. The movie looked to be near the end, but was much more violent and action packed to keep Ryo's and Kek's attention. The last scene was of the victorious warrior enjoying a nice meal alone around the bodies of his enemies. Though they only caught a few minutes of the flick, Kek saw enough to realize that Ryo did _not_ teach him how to use chopsticks correctly.

"Thanks," Kek mumbled. Ryo grabbed a blanket that had already been there from the bed he made the previous night, and wrapped it around their bodies. When the smaller male leaned in close, Kek wrapped the closer arm around his waist and solidified their proximity.

"It's nothing. Next movie is about to start. Want to watch it?" Ryo asked evenly.

"Not really. I'd rather watch something in English, but I don't really care. Do something without humans being annoying. Something that would make me want to be human."

"I'll see what I can do." The pale male grabbed the remote from the table, which caused the two bodies to separate slightly much to Kek's dismay, and began channel flipping for anything horror. Neither particularly cared about the mindless entertainment while they grew closer on the sofa.

Kek's hand rewrapped around Ryo tighter, and brought their bodies closer still. Ryo's head already rested on Kek's shoulders, his legs curled to his side on the couch, and a pale arm reached around Kek's lean stomach. Though the blanket hid their bodies, anyone could tell that the two had become inseparable, however subconsciously that truth lay.

Kek felt content sitting on the uncomfortable couch watching movies he barely followed with a guy who made him sickeningly weak. Shadows be damned, Kek turned off the light switch, and the two enjoyed the cozy colors in the room as the sun's last rays of the day clashed with the miscellaneous lights of the TV. In that moment nothing could bother the two males as they acted like nothing was wrong, and all they needed was the other to be around just a moment longer.

"_You're Ryo_," Kek thought in his head. "_Maybe together we could have been a new type of people_."

* * *

_Time to go back to working on college bull. yaaaaaay. -.-_

_Also, about Jem's comment of loving reviews, I DO keep a folder in my email of ALL reviews, and I DO go back to reread them because each one makes me happy. _


	7. Chapter 7

**We are back with another chapter! Except I have just got back from a twenty hour coach journey, so forgive any mistakes in this update. Grey wrote pretty much all of it, except for a tiny bit at the start, but I beta'd it all (probably very badly). Forgive any typos. Thanks again to everyone reading/reviewing, you keep us happy! We do love deathshipping. ^_^ Happy reading! - Jem**

_Grey hates herself for this. I needed to pick up the pace of the story, but this is meh. I need to write a lot of short, precise chapters, but that's also disagreeable for the story, so I try and fail to smooth out different plot points where I can at once. Still, next chapter should hopefully smoothen everything a bit more as we dig ourselves into the heart of the plot. Lucky seventh chapter, I hope!  
Also, I do hope people not using the mobile version of this site enjoy the new cover art._

* * *

"Fucking hell!"

"Language, Marik!"

"I don't fucking care!" Marik stormed about his room, his brows heavy and his eyes as hard as agates. He refused to meet his sister's gaze, ignoring Ishizu's pleas. "How could he have returned? _How?_ I thought I got rid of him!"

"You did, brother," Ishizu was quick to explain, laying an attempt at a calming hand on his shoulder. "He was banished. We all saw to that."

"Yeah, by the fucking Pharaoh!" Marik buried his face in his hands and collapsed back down onto the bed, curling up in a corner and tugging the sheets up over his body. His mind could not compute Ishizu's words. For his darker half to have somehow returned was an impossibility. Yet Marik's skull ached with uncharacteristic tiredness, his actions slow and lethargic, an unusual anger once again overtaking his every motion. Marik had thought he was past this.

Apparently not.

"Brother," Ishizu began, her tone quite clearly showing her worry, "None of this is your fault. You did nothing to bring back your dark half."

Marik shook his head. "Something did. Something brought him back. And he's a part of me, anyway – perhaps he never truly left. Perhaps, as long as I exist, he will always exist, too. I can't deal with this, Ishizu. I can't deal with . . . _him_." A flood of memories were invading Marik's brain, images of being thrust out of his body and abandoned as a spirit, of floating, insubstantial, forgotten and alone . . .

"You are not he, brother."

Ishizu's words cracked like a whip through the air.

"You and he were never the same being. He is the result of your anger and abuse, he is not you. He is a cruel and savage monster. You are a child robbed of your childhood. None of this is your fault."

Marik desperately wanted to believe Ishizu's words. He longed to bury his face in her robes and sob until the pain went away, but he was an adult now and he knew that childhood, such as it was, was long behind him. The blond also had to admit that locking himself in his room and throwing a storm about all that he could not control ranked about as lowly as any other childish behavior.

"You can pretend I'm not guilty, but we both know I'm not innocent," Marik eventually muttered, sullenly refusing to meet his sister's gaze.

"This is not a courtroom, Marik. You are an innocent being." Ishizu took in a deep breath, body leaning in to tug on the sheets that Marik clung to too tightly. "Your consistent moping is leading you to do nothing, and doing nothing is not a crime."

"Nothing is all that can be done!" Marik shot furiously off the bed, his hands balling into firm fists as he sent Ishizu his darkest glare. "What do you propose I do?!"

Ishizu turned away from Marik, seating herself on the edge of the bed. The gravity of the situation pulled down on her body too much. "How are you feeling in comparison to the park?"

"Like a nuclear bomb waiting to erupt," Marik spat angrily, pacing the room and leering at his sister. His violet eyes gave her all the frustration and bitterness he felt towards her, himself, his dark self, and the situation in its entirety. "Please, leave me be. I do care about you, and I don't want to drive you away by my future actions."

"Brother, if . . ." Ishizu cut herself off with a low, hissing sigh. ". . . That is probably for the best. Be sure to rest while I am gone," the older sibling pleaded as she left the room.

Marik released a breath he never realized he was holding. As much as Ishizu meant to help, her overbearing nature overwhelmed Marik. She only came to visit for a few days, but in light of recent circumstances she would probably stay longer, and Marik could only take so much in his irritable state. Trying to assuage some tension, Marik leaned back and rubbed his temples. His headache remained. The blond regretted not asking Ishizu for some of her homemade medicine before he pushed her away, but Marik hated the idea of only using his sister. Marik had used Odion indefinitely, but Odion was an enabler, always letting Marik run amok as he tried to fight his inner turmoil alone. Marik had trouble even calling the man brother until he vanquished his dark half. Marik loved Odion as well, but the closeness and appreciation took years to form because for the most part Odion truly was a mere servant to Marik.

Ishizu never truly spoiled Marik or succumbed to his desires, but she did bestow him with most of his few moments of happiness. The wise woman staged an entire tournament simply to save him, but Marik needed to cast her aside for a time until he could treat her as he should and as she deserved. Marik flinched a little as he remembered his betrayal of the one other person to stand by him, back when he had lost his body, and he would be damned if he lost someone as precious as a sister.

Then again, losing a partner definitely left a gap in meaningful relationships in Marik's life.

Marik ran his tan fingers through his tangled hair in frustration. "I got rid of you to get rid of _him_. Dammit, Bakura! Did I really lose you for nothing?" Marik bit his lower lip painfully as he tried to bite back the tears of anguish. "You gave everything for me, and I threw you away. This isn't fair! I need to get you back, my partner . . ."

•••

Ishizu never asked where Ryo lived, nor did she research it, but her intuition guided her feet well as she approached an apartment complex. Though Marik already had enough information to figure out who could have brought back his dark half, asking him for Ryo's address would certainly fill in any holes, and she could not allow her brother to seek Ryo in his weakened state. From the dark aura emanating through the area, the Egyptian woman knew she chose well to trust her instincts and not bother her younger brother. The sun already began to set, so she hastened her step until she reached the door hiding the highest concentration of dark energy.

Her knocks were decisive and firm. She hit her knuckles against the door three clear times, and waited to be let in. No sounds could be heard from the inside for a few moments until the sound of shuffling feet approached. The door opened soon after, creaking a little as it revealed a surprised looking Ryo. His eyes widened.

The quiet male stood frozen in place with a somewhat guilty expression, while Ishizu stood her ground with a usual cryptic stare. Only when Kek called from the inside did the two cease their small staring contest with Ryo stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

"It's, uh, been a while," Ryo commented, casting a downward glance.

"It would have been longer if you had not caused such a pressing problem." Ishizu's normally cool blue eyes hardened with a small sense of bitterness as she nodded once further into the apartment.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ryo stated. He knew he lied, but a large part of him truly did remain blind to any problems with what he had done.

"Ryo," Ishizu punctuated his name very distinctly, "I heard him. You even closed the door instead of allowing me to see the beast, with which I am actually slightly pleased considering I do not truly want to see it."

Ryo could not hold back a flinch.

Ishizu continued on regardless, her tone burning with more controlled anger the further she spoke. "You have brought back a _monster_, and I have good reason to know _why_."

"He is not a monster!" Ryo clenched his fists and tightened his jaw. "You don't even know him! You don't know anything!"

Ishizu struggled to keep calm, her lips drawing into a thin line. "I have known him since he was spawned! It is you who knows nothing."

"If you were really _there_, really _with_ him when he was first created, you would realize that he is your brother, too!" Ryo's voice raised with each word. All the emotion he had kept locked up, all the sympathy he felt for Kek, began to climb to the forefront as he was faced with one aspect of the creature's sorrowful beginnings. It was all Ryo could do not to shout. "He's human like anyone else. Sure, he's absolutely crazy, sadistic, angry, rash, and - to be completely frank -_dangerous_, but he is _human_. If you really tried talk to him, and understand how his psychopathic brain worked, then you'd see that!" Ryo's voice raised a bit too loudly, and he was especially lucky that the rooms on either side of him were actually vacant lest someone report him. Fury bested the normally civil male, and he would be damned if he let a stranger insult his companion.

"Why would his being human make him any less of a monster?" Ishizu spoke quietly, but the words were clear and cold.

Ryo paused. After all he had just said, Ryo knew that all the descriptions he used to define Kek were monstr_ous,_ but Kek was so much more than that. Ryo looked back to Ishizu with a clear, determined gaze. "He feels pain and regret like anyone else. He feels it for slightly more selfish reasons than most, but he _is_capable of any emotion - _has_ experienced every emotion! He's not a raging beast! He knows control and power over himself. You've been alone with him before, and he didn't kill you, so he must have shown a collected restraint and levelheadedness, right?"

Ishizu turned away slightly. "You know nothing. Those moments with him alone were the most terrifying I have ever known. He dared call me sister, but there was no warmth in his heart like a sibling should have when he spoke with me. He does not feel love or true joy. He is merely an embodiment of rage and sadistic pleasure."

The sun had faded into darkness completely save for a shimmer of orange-pink in the distant horizon. The light breeze tossed the two's hair slightly while also cooling them off from their heated discussion. Ryo's stature slacked in despair when he realized that Ishizu would never understand how truly beautiful Kek was; Ishizu held herself boldly and proudly erect in a small effort to try and make Ryo understand the grief that Kek would bring.

Ryo huffed and leaned on the door to the apartment. His pale hand covered his heart as he felt it beat beneath his chest. His thoughts began to stray back to the park, to when Kek and he stayed so close to each other that they shared a comfortable warmth, and the sound of each other's breathing lulled them to sleep. Nothing about that moment was filled with rage or sadistic pleasure, and Ryo bonded permanently with the blond on a special, indefinable level.

Ryo's lips turned upwards in the barest hint of a smile. "Kek's heartbeat matches mine."

Ishizu frowned and lowered her eyebrows into a frustrated position. "No, he and Marik share a heartbeat, and that bond has physically and emotionally hurt my brother in the past. Now it is hurting him again in the present! For the sake of my dear brother's future, _banish that monster_."

"I have no monster to banish. Goodbye, Ishizu," Ryo dully added as he turned to enter his apartment.

Ishizu reached her hands out and grabbed Ryo's closest wrist in a tight grip. Ryo turned to her angrily, but faintly saw the fear and sorrow in her eyes by the dim moonlight. Her tone was almost desperate as she pleaded with him. "Have you more sympathy for some _creature_ who tried to destroy everything he encountered, rather than my brother?"

Ryo pulled back his hand and turned around. His heart sunk, and he wanted to ask about Marik's condition, but Ryo knew then was not the time. Ishizu had insulted Kek too many times, and Ryo needed to calm down before he could properly empathize with the wise woman and her brother. Despite the amount of bad blood that happened between them in Battle City, Ryo did truly like and care about Marik. Regardless, Ryo steeled his heart and dismissed Ishizu.

"I've said it before, your brother isn't that innocent. I'm sorry, but now isn't the time to discuss this matter with you." Ryo said no more as he stepped inside his home.

Ishizu could have thrown a fit, could have barged in before Ryo shut the door, could have faced Kek all alone, but she saw little use in such actions. The Egyptian woman possessed inexplicable knowledge and insight, but she could not fathom Ryo's attachment to one so horribly wicked. Though, admitting it to herself alone, she had not truly tried to understand Ryo's unnatural protection of such a dark being. Ishizu longed to believe that Kek had changed, but her intuition sensed that no amount of difference could end the misfortune Ryo's decision would bring.

Ryo, though not as strongly, sensed the same future. The pale male walked down the short hallway past the kitchen, coming into view of Kek sitting on the couch. Th blond sat with his knees bent into his chest, and his body leaning forward. Ryo had questioned why the irritable man stayed inside despite the yelling, but the way his face lit when watching the TV explained everything well enough.

"Hey," Ryo chirped, masking his dread with his widest smile as he scooted back into his position near Kek.

Kek grunted, but shifted back into his former position as well, acting as if Ryo had never left to answer the door. "Why'd you get up in the first place, idiot?"

"Uh, the delivery boy came back saying we didn't pay for the delivery part of the meal. He forgot that it's free if the sun is still out. Dumb, right?" Ryo chuckled a bit hollowly at himself.

Kek just shrugged him off. "We're on the fifth floor. If he landed the right way, he'd have died if you pushed him off the railing, if you got the timing right. No one could pin it on you if they didn't see you."

"Kek, that's still illegal. And a sin. But mostly illegal," Ryo chided. "Besides, it'd still be a hassle either way, really. I should probably just make counterfeit ten dollar bills for these types of situations; no one really cares about them."

Kek sniffed petulantly. "But a good death threat would be just as effective."

"Or maybe I'd stalk people and blackmail them, right?" Ryo allowed his lips to curl upwards.

"Blackmailing is pathetic," Kek snorted. "Threaten them with something cooler than blackmail. You should also do the same to the families at that rate. Definitely threaten the families, too."

"Perfect. Nothing could be more simple and effective!" Ryo joked with a hearty laugh. Simply by its honest and infectious nature, Kek caught the laugh as well, and began cackling at their idiotic plotting for himself.

Once the laughter calmed down, Ryo glanced at the TV, and wondered what Kek had changed the channel to. "Kek, why are we watching this?"

The movie looked to be from an entirely different than the gorefest movie the two silently enjoyed together before. Instead of being set in a creepy dark building, the movie was bright and seemingly a comedy. Ryo wondered if secretly Kek longed to see the sun a bit more before he would leave, but the blond had already said so many personal feelings that day that Ryo dared not ask. Ryo preferred occult themed entertainment, but if it meant Kek was content, then he could sit through anything. The movies were not what consumed his thoughts anyway.

Kek never gave an answer, or even a title of the film, but they let the TV stay on that channel even when the next flick started. Ryo half watched the TV and half watched Kek's face for reactions. The blond's empathy had grown heavily within the past day. When a character acted embarrassingly, Kek would shift slightly away from Ryo, or when a character saddened, Kek would huff and slouch under the weight of despair. At one particularly gory but funny scene, Kek even laughed, though it still retained its maniacal tone.

Halfway during the second film, which was a rather dull romance, Kek fluttered his weary eyes. The clock read 10:14, and Ryo figured that their wakefulness neared its end for the night. Begrudgingly, Ryo stood and stretched a bit. Kek growled and collapsed on the newly vacant spot like a dead lion, but Ryo boldly tugged on an arm until he pulled Kek partially off the couch. The sluggish blond flung a slow punch at Ryo, but Ryo easily dodged.

"C'mon, you big log! Don't you want to sleep in my comfy bed over this lousy couch? You'll be more at ease." Ryo shook Kek a little more. "I need to sleep, too, and I don't want you mindlessly wandering into my room at night and kicking me out because you suddenly want the bed!"

Kek seethed at Ryo through half-lidded eyes, but finally rolled off the couch only to lean his head on Ryo's shoulder for support. "Sh'ddup. Join m'," Kek mumbled.

"What? Kek, get off," the smaller male commanded.

"No." Kek draped his arms around Ryo's other shoulder while they stood.

"Kek, let's just get you into bed, alright?" Ryo spoke softly while he tugged a bit harshly at Kek's form. "You're not thinking properly. Let's get moving."

With Kek still hanging onto his body, Ryo limped to his bedroom, which Kek's feet lethargically mimicked. The smaller male collapsed on the bed, and reluctantly Kek finally freed Ryo. The room was dimly lit, but some of the vague light from the TV came through the door and the moonlight slanted through the window. For being entirely groggy not a minute prior, Kek widened his dark violet eyes in the shadowy room, gaze locked on Ryo.

"You aren't leaving. Sleep with me," Kek ordered, his voice deep and gruff enough to prove that he was still sleepy.

"Why? I thought you wouldn't even let me have a corner of the bed?" Ryo asked incredulously.

The blond stripped off his shirt off and tossed it to the side. He shot Ryo a nonchalant glance before removing his pants and crawling to the side farther from the window. "You don't get a corner. You get the other half. Now shut up and sleep with me." Kek meant nothing by the words, but between the half-lidded stare, nearly completely bare bronze body, messy blond hair, and low voice, Ryo slowly noticed his body approaching Kek with an innate desire to be around the handsome creature.

Between the darkness and the sunburn, Ryo's blush could not be detected, but his entire body still burned bright red. Ryo laid himself parallel to Kek, but he kept his clothes entirely on, not even bothering to change into more comfortable sleepwear because, quite frankly, he just wanted to be lulled to sleep by the sound of Kek's heartbeat after a long day.

Both males subconsciously lay on the side toward the other's body, so they did the only thing to do before sleep consumed them, and looked at each other in the vague light. Ryo smiled, but Kek glared.

"You're a fucking idiot. I hope I wind up killing you in our sleep," cursed the blond. Kek locked his gaze to Ryo's, but his eyes continued to droop all over again. The monstrous man wanted to sound intimidating, and certainly meant his words, but that was the closest phrase to "good night" that he had in his vocabulary.

"Heh. I wouldn't have it any other way. Even then I'd be your friend." Ryo completely shut his eyes, but his smile grew. A hand tucked under his head for support, then the other rested in the small space between their bodies. "I'm only stupid because you probably will kill me in my sleep, but then we'd most likely at least go to the same place. You're the real idiot if you think killing me would make us not be so close." Toward the end Ryo began to mumble and slur his words, but even Kek's fading consciousness understood enough to "tsk."

"We aren't close," Kek grumbled, not entirely sure what their relationship was like. A dark hand placed down on the pallid one already in the center of the bed. "I asked you to sleep with me, not talk to me, idiot." Kek took the opportunity to roll his tired eyes even if Ryo was not looking.

Kek sighed when he got his wish too soon. Ryo had fallen asleep, and only the faint rise and fall of his chest mimicked any living behavior. "Idiot," Kek reiterated, "Ishizu was speaking only truth. Why the fuck are you keeping me? All the things I could do and destroy while you wouldn't know, yet you just . . . sleep there innocently." Kek squeezed his hand over Ryo's slightly.

Kek drifted to sleep unusually swiftly. Blond hairs scattered on the pillow beneath him, and Kek's body curled slightly so that his knees and Ryo's knees touched slightly. Their hands remained together because no matter how much tossing and turning either would normally do, each was far too cozy in place to move.

•••

It took an hour for Ishizu to walk back from Ryo's house and arrive home. The knowing woman needed occasionally to double check her surroundings and course because the darkness, even with city lights, still made her wary. She wondered if Marik had calmed at all, but with that creature still loose, she would probably have to watch Marik's temper for him. It would be all too easy for him to slip out of control.

Ishizu unlocked the door to Marik's home gently, loud enough to inform Marik of her arrival but soft enough to not be too disturbing. Within moments Marik walked into view, eyes filled with worry and gratitude.

"Sister, where have you been? The sun set long ago!" The words were a little harsher than he meant them to sound, but Marik truly did worry.

"I wanted to take care of something important. I am tired from my walk, so please allow me to rest. Are you feeling better?" Ishizu flashed her brother a very slight smile.

"Not really." Marik grimaced. "I made some soup, though. Don't go to bed hungry, have some." Before his sister could protest, he walked by her into the kitchen to fix her a bowl. "It's still surprisingly warm. It's not as good as yours, but it's good for you."

The older sibling graciously accepted her brother's kind gesture and nodded lightly. "You are too kind, Marik. Thank you." Ishizu took a small spoonful there as she stood, and nodded to her brother. "Perfect. Would you mind if I ate in my room, so I can rest?"

"Not at all. You're entitled to do as you want. You know this is your home whenever you visit," Marik said, ignoring the pain and irritation in his head in order to give Ishizu an endearing smile. "I'm sorry I sent you out at all. Thanks for coming back."

Ishizu's lips curled upwards. "Whenever you need me, I will come to your aid; however, it is a more likely scenario that I will probably have to scold and yell at you."

"Hey, that's still a healthy and necessary form of aid," Marik responded with a chuckle. The bronze man shooed Ishizu with a hand and a smile on his face. "Rest."

Ishizu nodded and left for her room. Marik ceased to smile, walking back into his own room with a scowl. The blond accepted that Ishizu probably would do anything in her power to help, but he never deserved it. Ishizu was family, bound to Marik by blood. Marik knew that their bond was special and deep, but without the blood, Ishizu would be just another face to him and vice versa. In the end, there was only one person with whom Marik had forged a relationship completely in his own right, and Marik had betrayed him without a thought.

Marik went to his own room. He clenched his fists again while he leaned on the doorframe, staring at his various handiworks on the floor. One small spot was drawn in a chalk outline of the Millennium Ring with some gold in the center. Another spot had the Dark Master Zorc card. A third spot simply had a picture of Bakura taken from a clip of a duel in Battle City. Everything had been guess work, as Marik had never dabbled in that sort of shadow magic, and he had no idea how to truly bring back his companion. All he gained were a few grubby shadow hands from the floor and some shadow mist, but no Bakura.

Marik possessed a small remainder of shadow magic, but he never utilized it until the moment Ishizu left him with that dark news of his dark half's return. Marik had a debt to settle, and if his monstrous side could return, he had no reason to believe that Bakura could not as well. The two were partners, and Marik missed that sort of bond. Marik would pursue this until the end, and he would repay his dear partner.

Marik just needed more information.

* * *

_Doing chapters without Jem at least giving me moral support sucks. I hope you all liked this well enough. Also, whom haven't I review replied yet? I really appreciate the feedback, but I know I've missed giving proper thanks to y'all. Some of you guys are actually pimp-dandy-diddly._


	8. Chapter 8

_Wow, this is the longest chapter so far (still only 5.6k words), and I don't even know what happened that was important until maybe the end. I think I lied when I said this would be the plot chapter . . . Still, the main conflict of this story isn't actually revealed yet, but it should be soon. I don't know how long the story will be as I think about it, but I will do everything in my power to make it a prime number of chapters. I CANNOT STAND even numbers, but NO WAY will this end at 11 chapters, and PROBABLY not 13. I may consider 15, but I like prime numbers like 17 more. *shrugs* I dunno, it all depends on my mood when I write; certain moods create more filler chapters and others get to the point._

_Oh man, you guys don't even know how mean I am to Jem. She's on another trip, but when she came back from the last one, I told her I changed the ending on MR. I told her that since Kek is a body of darkness, whenever he and Ryo have sex, Ryo's shadow magic meter thing would refill of Kek's "shadow-potent" semen touches Ryo or whatever. I literally did not think she would not roll with it as much as she did, but it was freaking hilarious - and it ACTUALLY became a really serious, intense plot somehow. I dunno, maybe I'll make an alternate story (that would split after this chapter) about it, but they honestly wound up having the same ending, so it's not like it really mattered much._

_After the "round houses" thing, I don't know why I thought Jem was less gullible. Lesson learned, I guess. (I love you, O Imperial Jem Master!)_

* * *

The sun leered inside the once dark room, scowling at the two lethargic men sleeping through its golden rays. For their insolence, the sun beamed brighter and brighter as morning passed, hoping the two would soon awaken. Brown eyes opened first, but with the owner's back facing the window. The awaking male yawned a bit, and checked the time: 9:49. Though waking at a much more reasonable time to arise than the previous day, the male decided to ignore the sun a bit longer to admire the one still sleeping.

Blond hair fell over much of the handsomely mocha face, but instead of looking more wild than usual, the man looked almost serene as he slept cozily. Kek's blond brows usually creased the youthful forehead, but remained level and undisturbed in sleep, and the demented veins that occasionally showed remained hidden under smooth flesh. Ryo barely noticed that Kek wrapped one of his strong arms around his lithe frame, but when he looked closer, he was holding onto Kek just the same.

Ryo gasped out, content to admire his companion. The hot breath hit Kek's face, and the blond stirred slightly, but only tightened his eyes shut. The arm around Ryo's waist also tightened to the point Ryo lay so close that almost each breath kissed the other's face. The warm air eventually seemed to assuage Kek rather than disturb, so Ryo relaxed in the hold as he enjoyed the moment. For that short time, Ryo stopped worrying about his growing headache, about Ishizu and Marik, about not making Kek's time worthwhile, and especially about Kek eventually leaving. When pallid arms wrapped against such a solid, tan body, Ryo could hardly imagine having to let go and lose Kek.

Brown eyes hid behind their fleshy covers. Breathing softened, and Ryo completely surrendered his consciousness. Too soon, however, violet eyes revealed themselves, rather disgusted by their first morning view.

"What the hell are you doing on me?" Kek seethed, voice low and grouchy, barely coherent with his mind still hazy.

"You really ruined our moment." Ryo uncoiled his arms from Kek, and even grabbed Kek's arms and dropped them far away as though they were vile invaders. Ryo began to awaken before Kek, but he still felt as groggy. Honestly, Ryo had not slept better in years, so the grogginess stemmed from the desire to continue that peacetime feeling.

The blond man scoffed and scooted away from the other. Kek sat on the bed, glaring at the open window with a frown. "It looks late. Why?"

"Huh?" Ryo uttered pathetically. The smaller male rolled to the side, twisting a bit to see the clock. "It's only 10:12. That's a good time to start the day."

"No. The sun is too high. I could never sleep easy with that infernal light invading my body while I remain unconscious! Did you open the windows and then fucking crawl back into bed with me?!"

Ryo rolled his eyes, smile slightly mocking. "I doubt I could move an inch with how tightly you clung to me. I woke up with you coiled around me." Soft pink lips softened their smug, high arch into a gentle curve. "Did you sleep well?"

The dark being took a moment to reply, thoughts wandering outside to the open window. "Too well," Kek grumbled. "I needed food in my belly hours ago. You should have woken me, asshole! Make some food now."

"You have to get out of bed if you want food. We can continue our lessons from before. C'mon, get up!" Ryo pulled away the covers despite Kek partially sitting on them, and crossed his arms. "You have two minutes to get up and help me cook or else you won't eat."

Two minutes gave Kek enough time to sit down on the bed and lose himself in his thoughts. As a consistent body of darkness, the sun always disturbed Kek. When the blond controlled Ra, he did it as a way of proving that he was strong enough to control the Sun God, stronger than light itself. _Not _waking up from bright sunlight had never happened before, no matter how few hours of sleep he had gotten.

Kek stood up and checked himself in the mirror. For one of the few times in his life, his eyes looked alive and slightly less deranged without the light bags underneath. His skin had darkened from the sun yesterday, but with the rejuvenating sleep, he practically glowed. Even a few of his more constant veins had disappeared because Kek just felt that much less irritable than ever before.

For a moment, Kek, as he scrutinized himself in the mirror a bit longer, resembled the part of himself he hated most, Marik. The thought sent a new, quaking rage in his body that reverted him back to his usual deranged form. Ryo's demands be damned, Kek decided to take an extra minute before leaving the room. Kek wanted to be Kek whenever the other saw him, not just the look-alike.

Ryo walked out of his room with a smug smile, no idea of Kek's inner concerns and worries in his head. Kek would likely burn the house down if he did leave the room to try to help with breakfast, but Ryo liked the company. Regardless of Kek's destructive ways, the blond actually provided Ryo with entertainment . After the shopping incident, the blond had actually stayed relatively tamed.

Though, Ryo never really wanted Kek to be _tamed_. As the pale male washed some tomatoes, he knew that he would never want Kek to do the same, not because Ryo liked washing fruits and vegetables himself, but because Kek should never be domesticated. The lion-like man was a true king of the wild, so the idea of _taming_ Kek repulsed Ryo. Taming lions for amusement and a sense of power sickened Ryo. If Kek were tamed, that would mean he ranked the same as a common beast, and that would take away his sense of his own personhood, his humanity.

Ryo's thoughts were cut short when he heard a loud bang and felt a shake. Kek finally joined him, and announced himself by kicking the table Ryo was using to dice the ingredients for his omelette. Ryo glared at the intruder to no effect.

"Why do you get a knife?" Kek scoffed, arms crossed on his chest.

"If you really want to hold one, I keep them in the second drawer from the stove. Peel three potatoes for me, please. Potatoes are the brown things in the pantry." Ryo continued to chop and dice tomatoes and herbs, not bothering to even look up as he instructed Kek. Truthfully, he could do without the peeling, but he needed Kek distracted with something lest he destroy the kitchen through his boredom.

The blond walked to the stove and did as requested, if only to hold a knife again. Skinning the small brown produce lasted a short two minutes, much Kek's disappointment. Holding a knife gave him a sense of power, a sense of familiarity, that he had so far been lacking in his rather simple life with the small pale man at his side. The Rod Kek had grown so fond of previously was nowhere to be held, and losing that had caused the monstrous being great agitation. Kek understood that he could get a cane or a real rod that felt the same way in his strong grip, but the Rod was more dangerous than any simple staff, particularly with the sheathed knife its gold concealed. Kek wanted that little piece of familiarity and power back in his hands, wanting the strength to cut and manipulate his fate on his own instead of relying on a man half his size.

"-an," Kek heard vaguely while in his daydream. "Put them in the pan, Kek."

"What?" the dark being asked dumbly.

"The potatoes. I don't need anything else. Drop the potatoes in the pan, then put the knife in the sink." Ryo sighed while an afterthought entered his head. "You can keep the knife so long as no one else suddenly gets it in their back. Or face. Or chest. Basically, it's not allowed to touch anyone else."

"That sounds lame," Kek grumbled.

Ryo shrugged. "It makes it more yours. You should be happy."

Kek walked over to Ryo, clutched the knife. "_Happy_?" Kek gripped the handle the knife tighter. His eyes slanted, and his entire face contorted in rage. "Why would I be _happy _about something I will have to get rid of soon?"

"I said _should_, Kek." Ryo put a hand over Kek's chest, enjoying the feeling of Kek's pumping heart beneath his fingers. "I would never expect you to actually be happy about this situation, but . . . You're like a child with your emotions. Children should be happy, I think. You feel joy in your heart. I can feel it, so I want you to be happy."

Kek swatted Ryo's hand away, lifting the knife to the smaller male's neck. As expected, Ryo stood his ground, smile almost a smirk. Kek huffed right into Ryo's face, but lowered his blade. Sometimes, without Kek completely understanding, whenever Ryo did _not_ act or fight back, the deranged man obeyed. Ryo knew Kek would never cut him, for reasons more than Ryo's control of Kek's fate. Obviously the blond loathed that fact, but when Ryo pressed his hand to Kek's chest, he knew that Ryo molded into Kek's heart.

"Go sit down at the table." Ryo gestured to the table with his chin. "I'll finish breakfast. Have you ever had an omelette before?"

"On the blimp, yeah. I guess I could have it again. Just don't fuck it up," the blond commanded.

Not but a few minutes later, Ryo walked to the table with two plates topped with slices of the omelette and toast. Ryo also placed two waters and silverware on the wooden surface. For a creature born to create disaster, Kek ate his meal civilly; the blond held his fork the proper way, and kept good distance between his face and his plate. Ryo, for once, noticed his own wild eating habits, devouring the food in messy forkfuls and chugging his water just to be able to swallow the copious amount in his mouth. Ryo finished first, and after his last bite, laughed at the ironic juxtaposition. Food covered half his pale face and spots on his shirt, but Kek just continued his meal.

"How is it?" Ryo questioned with bright brown eyes.

"Fine," Kek answered. Though his tone was dull, his eyes sparked with amusement. "Watching you eat made me lose my appetite."

"Heh, I guess that's reasonable." Ryo hummed a little to himself. The two had barely interacted the entire morning, and that saddened Ryo. Sleeping close together felt intimate with their arms wrapped around each other, but waking up broke whatever spell had come over them the night before. Ryo wanted that intimacy back.

"What are you going to make me do today?" Kek asked after finishing his last bite. "You want to make me 'live' or something, right?"

"Huh?" Ryo had never really planned anything with Kek. Whatever happened never happened because Ryo _wanted_ specific things; everything just fell into place. "Do you want to go out?"

One glance at Kek's repulsed face told Ryo that going out and dealing with people was a solid no.

"Okay," Ryo hummed, drawing out the word. The thinking male rested his head with his dirty hands on the table. "Well, we need to take a shower. Even if we stay here, we should be clean and fresh."

Kek furrowed his brows. "Aren't showers supposed to be personal?"

"Showers for us could have been if the very first time I met you you weren't stark naked." Ryo laughed a little. "Didn't you say you slept naked? How is sleeping in a cloak and cargo pants comfortable?"

The blond shrugged. "I was tired. I wanted to literally sleep with you, not . . . whatever they did in that movie last night."

"Oh." Ryo blushed enough to be noticeable despite the burn. How much of the movies did he daydream during? Ryo remembered the two people beginning to make-out, but he really did not want to explain what "sleeping" with someone meant.

Kek stood up, stretching his still stiff muscles. "Well? You look like you need a shower more than I do. Join me, back washer."

"Is that my importance to you?" Ryo asked the question without malice or annoyance. The smaller male chuckled a bit as he stood as well, walking away from Kek. "Hurry up. I can practically hear the water running!"

"Huh?" Kek growled, glaring after Ryo as he rushed from the room. "Oi, wait! I get first dibs on the warm water!"

Ryo made it to the bathroom door with an echo of laughter following him. He locked the door behind him, but Kek pounded on the door hard enough for the weaker male to know better than to keep the larger one out. Though Kek exclaimed a stream of curses and threats, the shower remained simple and amusing, both enjoying their time together with mischievous grins on their faces.

•••

Marik awoke to the smell of food cooking from downstairs. The Egyptian glared at the small light leaking into his room, and quite literally rolled off the bed. Marik fell on a few duel monsters cards that remained on the floor from the previous night, but hardly cared. Marik failed to help his partner rise back into the human world, and that shot down any desires to rise himself. If not for the sound of Ishizu's footsteps, Marik would have continued to lie on the floor.

Marik feared the idea of Ishizu finding out of his plan, and he quickly rushed out the door before she would see the various marks and set-ups on the floor. Violet eyes still drooped in drowsiness, but Marik matched his sister's hard gaze.

"Brother, breakfast is ready. Please join me," Ishizu requested evenly. The knowing woman scrutinized her brother's disheveled appearance, but made no comments.

"No, thank you. You can begin without me. I'll grab a bite after I shower, okay?" Marik mumbled most of the reply as he scooted past Ishizu to the bathroom.

Ishizu remained standing in place, eyes cold as she peaked into the crack of Marik's door. Though Ishizu never used the dark shadow magic her millennium necklace wielded, using it to hone her own natural gift, she could readily recognize the aura it emitted. Marik's entire demeanor seemed darkened, and oozed a blackened aura, while the same aura stained his bedroom.

Knowing she would loathe whatever she would find, Ishizu opened the door to Marik's room entirely. Her heart dropped, but she walked further inside despite her ominous premonitions. Markings on the floor basked in the shadow realm's magic. Blank spots on the wall hid leftover power. Marik's unmade bed . . . As the place that held Marik while unconscious, Ishizu could feel more than darkness by the area. So much sadness, so much longing.

The loud creak of Marik turning off the water in the shower warned Ishizu to leave the room immediately. She acted swiftly but silently as she left everything the same. The woman rushed to the kitchen, and began to serve two plates of breakfast by the time Marik walked out of the bathroom.

"You didn't eat without me?" Marik questioned as he took a seat at the table behind Ishizu.

"No, no. Your showers last a few minutes, so I decided to wait," Ishizu turned around and set a plate in front of Marik before seating herself. "We have much to discuss, brother."

"Is it about my other half?" Marik's voice dripped venom.

"No, this is a bit unrelated to that issue," Ishizu paused a bit before continuing. "As you know, I intended to stay a week, but I want to be near in case you need me."

"Yes, I figured as much." Marik grimaced. "I . . . I appreciate the thought, but I don't know. I'm normally consumed by rage, and I don't know if I could live with myself if I lost another person I love by my own hands!"

Ishizu looked down. She brought a hesitant bite of the food to her lips, and Marik mimicked the action. They both needed to choose their words carefully, so in the meantime they ate quietly.

"Who have you lost?" Ishizu cut in before the two finished the meal.

Marik dropped his fork onto his plate, messily spreading its contents. "What do you mean?"

"People you love." Ishizu's clear gaze bore into him. "Who have you lost?"

"I-I don't know what you mean. You know who I've lost!" Marik's flush was mostly hidden by his dark skin, but Ishizu could see better, especially by his overall reaction. "I lost father because I . . . And I killed mother, too! I-I . . ."

"You loved neither of those two," the wise sister stated. "You never knew mother. You have no memories of her to love. As for father, _you_ were not the one to kill him, nor did he ever deserve love regardless."

"It was me! Okay, so I didn't love him, but I still killed him! I've never been strong enough to handle my own problems, and all that's done is hurt people! I almost lost Odion by my own stubbornness! _My_ stubbornness."

"Odion loves you, brother. He is strong, and your older brother. He and I are supposed to risk ourselves to help you. We are the ones that led you astray." Ishizu reached forward to grab Marik's hand. "You are strong. You've grown up to be a fine young man, Marik. By the end of Battle City, when you no longer had that dark part of you, you stood your ground and sent that monster away on your own. You let down pride to lose for the greater good. You proved yourself well, brother!"

"What good did that do?! I surrendered the one item that truly mattered to _him_ to his arch enemy, and in the end, _my_ arch enemy returned!" Marik slammed his hands on the table and shot his body up. After a second of thought, his eyes darted a little in panic. Ishizu never knew of his attachment to Bakura, and even though he never mentioned names, she was too wise not to piece it all together.

Before Ishizu could grab onto Marik, the blond had already darted away outside. She sat alone in the kitchen, knowing that she could not seek her brother in such a mood. Strangely enough, Marik was actually less in pure rage and more in desperate sadness. Before Marik had been wrathful and malicious, however much he tried to hide it from Ishizu, but in that moment, Marik seemed like he just wanted to let go of his anger. Sadness could drive anyone to do things worse than rage, and Ishizu had to question if her dear brother had always felt such sorrow, or if this was an emotion that was sparked from the rage.

Ishizu pondered whether her brother's worse half triggered anything, but she dismissed the thought. To affect Marik's sadness would mean the beast would have to feel the same despondent love for another, and the wise woman knew that the likelihood of _that_ was less than zero. Monsters could not feel regret and love like her brother; however, maybe someone monstr_ous_ could . . .

Ishizu rose and walked outside, but Marik had moved quickly, and all she could catch was the sound of his motorcycle speeding by.

Marik had developed the need to cruise on his bike whenever stress built inside him. Ironically, driving under the irritation Marik experienced begged for disaster, but most often the wind flowing through his long, blond hair and the rumble beneath him that resembled freedom calmed him down instantaneously. Unlike most other rides, that day Marik still raged with a pounding, panicking heart even after several minutes riding.

To save himself some grief at red lights and other vehicles, Marik cruised on the less crowded backroads. Marik only took the route whenever he went on his rare visits to see Odion on the quiet side of town. The city limits blended into nature the farther he drove, and instead of clearing the Egyptian's mind, it opened room for more thoughts.

Ishizu had only said that his dark half returned, but never how. Marik almost did not care that the monster returned, but he needed to know _how_ or else he would always fail to get Bakura back. Marik would always fail Bakura. If Bakura had been sent to the shadows, then using the remainder of his shadow magic should somehow resurrect him! What had Marik done wrong other than send him away in the first place?

Marik gripped the handlebars tighter as he sped along the open road. All Marik knew was that Ishizu hinted Ryo was involved somehow, and he felt like a fool for not pressing for more details. Honestly, Marik should have invaded Ryo's home for any information already. Though Marik had visited once prior, he barely remembered where Ryo lived, but the blond assumed he could simply play the "Getting Warmer" game with his increasing headaches. Marik felt like passing out right then, but drove through the awful pain; he had somewhere he needed to be.

•••

Ryo plopped on the sofa with his hair dripped in a messy bun, his slender form dressed in sweatpants and a white undershirt. Kek followed behind his host with a sour look that the smaller male noticed.

"You don't like TV now?" Ryo asked after putting a movie on pause.

"Not now! We did this yesterday!" Kek's grumble was petulant. "Are you really so pathetic that this is all you do in your free time?"

Ryo shrugged. Kek had the attention span of a child for most things, but he was stubborn and mindful enough to plan and prepare for tasks that required work. Ryo figured they could play Duel Monsters, but he only had his one deck, and that was not a game that brought back many great memories. Luckily, Ryo occupied himself with a lot more than cards.

"Come to my room with me," Ryo ordered as he grabbed Kek's hand and walked to his room.

Kek dragged his feet behind the demanding male in front of him, and decided not to kill him for his annoyance. "What are you looking for?" Kek asked when Ryo grabbed a large box from his closet.

"Kek, solve this." Ryo gave no further instructions before throwing a miscellaneously colored cube at Kek. "Make all the sides have one color."

Kek growled with his face centimeters from the frustrating cube. The blond twisted and turned panels, which he originally thought meant that he broke it, for less than a minute before tossing it on the ground. "That thing is impossible! I should just break it for real!"

Ryo chuckled and picked up the discarded toy. "Nonsense, Kek. It's a child's toy. You just have to plan your moves. There's a formula to it." Ryo's words died as he demonstrated his point.

Rusty, pale hands shifted all the panels and parts for a few short minutes until he figured out the solution at last. Kek stared in awe, but gave no praise when the other finally solved the wretched color puzzle. Ryo tossed it back to Kek with a satisfied smile, and the blond used all his restraint to not lunge it into Ryo's clever skull.

"Fine, I couldn't solve it. I'm bored with it." Kek crossed his arms and stood tall. "Find something else."

Ryo sighed but complied. Many items filled Ryo's special toy and game chest, but Ryo eventually pulled out an opened puzzle. He had solved it years prior, but Ryo would not mind trying to recreate an image of the Change of Hearts card with a companion. The puzzle only had 250 pieces, so even Kek should be able to keep his patience with it.

Kek dumped all the pieces on the floor by "accident." Instead of yelling and demanding that Kek clean his mess, Ryo left the broken puzzle on the floor. "I have regular playing cards? Do you know how to play poker?" Kek shook his head. "Right. I wouldn't want to dominate an amateur. Um . . ."

Kek growled. "Well, do you really have nothing else?"

"_I_ have plenty of fun stuff. _You_ are the problem, being so picky!" Ryo finally dumped his entire box onto the bed for Kek's discretion.

The dark being touched and grabbed various items, from Monster World pieces and figurines to another rubix cube and other puzzles. Ryo really would love to play Monster World or another table top RPG, but after years of leaving it set up in his room to never be played, Ryo finally put it in storage. Even if it took time to organize, Ryo would not mind making everything right to play if he could avoid the pain of putting it away when his companion would ultimately go.

Ryo could introduce Kek to the Internet and online gaming, but that could end in disaster. Ryo stifled a laugh as he pictured Kek in an online shooter match with an experienced team only to wreck the entire plan and going in his blazing rage. Still, funny scenarios amused Ryo, not Kek, and entertaining the picky dark creature was the primary objective. Kek could read a few of Ryo's comics and mangas, but the wise male wanted to avoid feeding Kek's wicked imagination with any more diabolical plots.

"It's been five minutes. Do you have anything or not?" Kek spat. "I'm bored looking at you being boring, bastard."

"Nice alliteration, I guess." Ryo shrugged again and continued looking through the various games. The pale male tossed a slinky at Kek, but it stretched, and Kek grew confused at how to hold the toy, and also at Ryo's earlier words.

"Alliter-what?" Kek asked with his head cocked to the side.

"Nothing. Don't worry your pretty little head about it." Ryo dismissed Kek's grumbling by turning his back and searching deeper into the closet for missed items that were too big for his box.

Ryo searched for a moment until he found an item that not even Kek could hate. The small male slipped inside the dark closet deep enough that the blond could not see him. All Kek could perceive were a few shuffling noises, and he unknowingly leaned forward, hoping to see what the other had in store for him.

Luckily the blond did not lean forward too far because a moment later Ryo sprung from the closest riding a bright orange rod-like object which collapsed a foot from Kek's feet. The monstrous man stepped back and looked down to observe what the hell Ryo had done.

"How about we pogo?" Ryo asked with a cheek-splitting grin on his face, despite lying on his back awkwardly on the floor. "Help me up. I'll let you try it." Ryo raised a hand, which Kek grabbed only to hastily fling Ryo back on his feet.

"The fuck is that?" Kek pointed to the offending orange rod with wide eyes of panic, as though it would spring to life eat him.

"It's my pogo stick! I haven't touched it in years, so I'm happy I fit on it still. Then again, it always was too big for me as a kid." Ryo dusted away some of the dirt on his pants and shirt, and overall acted like everything in the world was in perfect order. "You really have to try it, Kek."

"Try what?" Kek's eyebrows furrowed in disgust as he pointed dramatically at the orange stick. "That _thing_ is the devil!"

"My _pogo stick_ is the devil? Really, of all things. I'm sure the same could more reasonably be said about you," Ryo snickered. "Is it the orange? I always wanted to paint it. Whoever thought that color appealed to children should fall off a trampoline."

"Trampoline? Wait, no, aren't we past the child stage? I'm not going to play with some kid's toy!" Kek bellowed as he kicked the defenseless pogo stick.

Ryo rolled his eyes and crossed his arms onto his chest, swaying his body on his side slightly. "_You _are past the kid's stage? Are you sure about that? Your entire life revolved around _Duel Monsters _before!"

"That's different! That game was much more intense than riding on that damned stick. Plus, you didn't even ride it! All you did was jump out and sca-a-ar yourself!" Kek exclaimed while he fumbled over his words.

Ryo snickered again. "I 'sca-a-ar'ed myself or I 'scared' you?" Ryo nudged Kek with his elbow. "Don't be scared of it. Just jump on it and go for a ride. Or, you know, to the shadows with ye!" Ryo added a pirate voice to undermine the scariness of the situation to Kek, which he soon realized went right over the blond's head when he cocked his head and gave a confused look.

"You know, you're annoying when you're in a good mood."

"I'm only trying to make you be less of a baby about this. Just grab the damn pogo stick and _try _it." Ryo's grave look contrasted with the silliness of his words, but the point got across well enough.

Wordlessly, Kek picked up the tangerine-bright stick and stared at it. "I don't know what to do," the dark being confessed at last.

"Well, you're holding it upside down for starters." The smaller male walked to his companion, snatched the pogo stick away from him, and shoved it back into his hands so that the handles were secure in the proper orientation. "Put your left foot here," Ryo instructed as he put his right foot on the foot-holder to his right. When Kek obeyed, Ryo decided to continue. "When I say 'hop,' put your other foot on the other space and keep your balance while we bounce on it."

"Shit, do I really have to do this?" Kek mumbled to himself. The blond could already feel himself wobbling, but Ryo grabbed his hands and rooted him to the stick evenly.

"You have to do this. Everyone sucks at first, but it's fun. I'll help you." Ryo ignored the detail that he probably failed at pogoing more than Kek would by all the years without practice, but he still remained calm and balanced.

"Fine." Kek rubbed his fingers over Ryo's. "I will kill you later."

"That's so sweet of you to say, Kek. I will kill you later, too. Still, HOP!"

Mirroring the other foot panel, the two synchronized well so that Ryo's foot stayed close to the actual pole, whereas Kek's foot instantly latched on the rim. The two bent their knees and shot up high enough that much of Kek's wild blond hair grazed the ceiling. They wobbled, but their overall balance evened out for itself the more they hopped together. Kek's hard amethyst eyes bore into Ryo's soft java ones, and for an instant the blond lost himself, and his balance, and caused the two to crash into the ground.

Before they landed, Ryo shoved the pogo stick away so that the handles would not jab into either of them, and the smaller male landed on Kek's broad chest instead of on the hard metal. Kek landed on his back, but his head was more or less protected by his strong, puffing hair. Dark arms wrapped around the lithe body on top of him, and as much as the arm's owner wanted to claim that it was reflex to grab hold of anything when falling, he knew it would be a lie. Pale hands acted no less innocently. Though the owner could not wrap around his companion completely during the panic of the fall, pale hands still gripped onto bronze shoulders.

"Did you have fun?" Ryo whispered while he still lay close to Kek, breath tickling the dark man's nose.

"Yeah." Kek gulped as his hands moved up to be behind Ryo's head. "I'm still going to kill you, but . . ."

"Yeah . . ." Ryo leaned in closer, eyes half-lidded. "Let me have one dying wish."

Ryo closed his eyes as he closed the gap between their mouths. Kek's hands tangled themselves in Ryo's hair, but not tightly. The two melded their lips together, but kept everything chaste without tongue, grinding, or the like. Neither really even knew how to kiss, but the feeling of mutuality passing though their lips gave a sense of euphoria nonetheless.

The doorbell rang, and Ryo reluctantly pulled away.

"Don't go," Kek commanded, hands still holding Ryo. "My head hurts . . . I don't want you to go, dammit!"

"It'll be fine. Lie down if you don't feel well, okay?" Ryo's smiled softened to that of a caring mother's, and he kissed his companion on the forehead. "They'll just keep ringing the door unless I get it. I'll get you some ice, too. Your head must hurt from the fall, I guess."

More ringing.

"I'm coming!" Ryo shouted, walking out of the bedroom to the front door.

Ryo did not bother looking through the peaking hole, assuming a salesperson was ringing, and flung the door open.

"Good day, Ryo."

Ryo's lips went dry, but words still escaped his lips. "Good day, Marik. You look . . . awful."

* * *

_So if you're wondering what the point of this chapter was, I admit that it was 100% done to make Kek ride a pogo stick. Not even sorry, bro._

_OH! And I have a special quiz for you all~! To whoever guesses the background and lock-screen of my phone at 5:33 pm, August 26th, I will write a oneshot of the person's choice (that doesn't refute the things I hate on my profile)._

_Grey out, homies. Please review._


	9. Chapter 9

**Jem here again, and I am back! This chapter was still pretty much all written by Grey, but I beta'd properly this week and actually changed some things and added bits, so some of it is mine, too. Thanks to everyone reviewing, we treasure your words XD The reason this chapter is so late in the day is entirely down to me, for being slow and sick. Sorry ^_^ I hope you enjoy this chapter! – Jem**

_So I've brought to Jem's attention that she has a very triangular face. Often when I do something that upsets her, she'll hide in this imaginary dark corner. The corner is very special because it homes her triangular face in a dark corner of a round house. This is a most fascinating study.  
(Why didn't anyone take a guess at last chapter's quiz? *pouts*)_

_Also, this is a chapter that makes me want to highlight in every way a few special lines with "THIS IS FORESHADOWING, GUYS!" but Jem told me I have to leave it up to you wise and clever readers._

* * *

Observing Marik's appearance in detail, "awful" understated how weak he truly appeared. Ryo stood in the doorway, mouth a little open as he regarded Marik's trembling form. Platinum blond locks clung to sweaty bronze skin, and Marik was hunched over as though gravity suddenly had a vendetta against him. Violet eyes drooped, but leered up enough that they met maroon colored ones with great disdain.

Marik steadied himself by clutching the doorframe, though his grip was feeble at best. The wind blew, and Ryo instinctively caught Marik before the weak male toppled to the floor completely. The sight of such a feeble Marik knotted and twisted Ryo's insides, forcing him to feel just the right amount of agony and guilt, but not enough to render him completely incapable.

"Bakura," Marik wheezed, hand reaching to stroke Ryo's cheek softly. "Where is . . . Bakura. You'll never be . . . my partner."

A small tear lined down Marik's cheek, blending in almost too well with the sweat covering the blond's unkempt skin. Ryo held Marik tighter, and wondered how his friend became so desperate and sad. No, Ryo knew how it happened, as Ishizu had personally delivered the message, but Ryo dismissed it in blind fury. Damned be all, Marik was Ryo's friend. The two had always known that Ryo was not and would never be Bakura, but they talked and socialized like normal friends. Marik acknowledged Ryo _most_ as someone separate to his dark half because the blond understood the best that Ryo and Bakura were entirely separate beings. Marik hid his winces and pain every time he looked at Ryo's deceptive face, and Ryo ignored them when he caught them because they hurt him, too. In all their long and brief encounters, Marik interacted despite the pain to keep a friendly door open to Ryo, thought Ryo supposed that right had been slammed shut. Marik never loved Ryo like he did Bakura, for which Ryo did not take offense, but it hurt knowing that his friend wept because he was not the "right one."

Ryo hated the idea that he was just the "other one" despite being the real owner of the body. Bakura never even had a name until he stole it from Ryo, and Ryo hated the thought of someone preferring his dark half to him. Never, though, did he ever try to console Marik for his loss, taking for granted that the strong Egyptian could move on. Ryo just wanted to ignore Marik's pain and be friends with the reformed Egyptian, but that was selfish. Every little deed Ryo did hurt Marik, but circumstances blinded him, circumstances being Marik's dark half and his desire to never bring his own dark half back.

Marik had been the only one to truly understand that Ryo was not Bakura, but that only meant that he yearned more for someone else, and that Ryo could never be enough. Kek, being a creature of true honesty and integrity, treated Ryo as Ryo alone. Kek acted rashly and invasively, but also more like a teddy bear that mimicked something fierce only to be discovered as harmless and endearing.

That endearment caused anguish for someone innocent.

Ryo's insistence on keeping Kek with him was the direct cause of Marik's demise. Kek was the other half, the ugly side, the unwanted and unwarranted part, yet Ryo wanted to have him by his side. The pale male wanted Kek to stay more than Marik, despite the way his heart grieved for his friend before him. Ryo had scowled and scorned Marik for so obviously desiring Bakura more, and yet Ryo acted no better.

Kek provided a sense of intimacy that no one else could, and Ryo relished in that sensation. He loved that someone knew him purely for him, with no constant comparison to Bakura. But Ryo needed to change and give Marik some much needed closure, if his friend was to have any chance of gaining strength.

"I'm here, Marik. Listen, I'm going to take you to the sofa. Try to walk with me. On the count of three. One, two, three." Ryo straightened his body with a hold still on Marik so that the blond rose with him. The smaller male took slow steps, and the Egyptian warily followed to the sofa.

"Bakura . . . How do I get him back? . . . This isn't fair . . . _He's_ here, but . . . Bakura," Marik's eyes prickled with unshed tears.

Never had Ryo seen Marik in such a state of longing and distress over Ryo's darker half. Normally a masterful charade would occur to fool Ryo, but Marik was spewing his heart in its entirety. Nothing Ryo could say or do could justify the grief he caused his friend. As much as he wanted to claim his own appearance as his own, no one else's, Ryo should have been kinder to Marik, and he should have helped him cope. If Ryo lost Kek, and then had to constantly face Marik . . .

No. Kek's existence brought pain to Marik, but were Kek to go, then Ryo would become no better than Marik. Both would continue to suffer in longing love, and no one would win in any situation. If Kek stayed, Ryo would be torn apart by guilt, Marik would suffer, and Kek would think that he was not enough to make Ryo happy; however, if Kek left, everyone would have a good in their hearts, and Kek would be banished to a place where hearts do not exist.

Another tear slid down Marik's face, but the man possessed enough strength to refuse bawling completely. Anger still swelled Marik's conscious thoughts, but the love and need he had for Bakura rose to levels the blond could no longer suppress. Marik wondered if his new emotional demeanor had to do with Kek; considering that Kek existed by only his strong hatred and bloodlust, he should not have influenced Marik's sense of compassion and passion.

A deep, dark call reached the two males' ears. The voice was familiar for both men and sent different reactions through each of them; Ryo looked with longing to the door, whilst shivers of fury shook Marik's core before they escalated into a sopping feeling of desperation and resentment. The voice struck far too many chords of memory, but it had changed tempo and pitch to be almost unrecognizable. Marik could not deny to whom the voice belonged, however much it may have changed.

Ryo and Marik watched each other carefully. Ryo's brown eyes were worried, whereas Marik's gaze was narrowed in weak and desperate fury.

"You certainly can't . . . deny his presence now." Marik clenched his teeth, biting back his frustration.

Ryo opened his mouth, though he had nothing that he could say, but another dark cry, yelling his name, stopped him short.

"Bring him to me." Marik's voice was a feeble command.

Ryo wanted to protest, but no good reasons came out. Kek sounded like he was groaning and unwell himself, and Ryo needed to return to his true companion, despite how loathe he was to leave the weaker male alone. The pale man cast one last apologetic look at the trembling Egyptian man on his couch before turning to his room.

Not bothering with a knock, Ryo stepped in and had to use quick reflexes to prevent a very metal and dangerous pogo stick from flying at his head. Kek howled a blood-curdling sound, but Ryo walked forward regardless, hands outstretched. Kek tried to throw more things in his reach such as the alarm clock, but it was mounted to the wall and too difficult to remove. Kek's gaze fell instead on some pillows on the bed that did not hurt much when they struck Ryo, and he threw them with great force. Ryo took the hits, watching with strange emotions stirring in his gut. Kek was a growling, shivering mess, looking akin to a feral beast injured on the road, but refusing human help.

"Leave me alone!" Kek bellowed with all his energy. "You fucking left! Don't bother coming back. I hate you. I hate you! _I hate you_!"

The words instantly decayed Ryo's spirit, but he refused to stop trying to get through to the seething man. "Kek, what are you saying?" Ryo asked in a choked whisper.

"_Him_! You went to _him_! He's the bastard! He's the cruel one! He's the one who needs to leave, but you left me for that bastard!" Kek's entire body quaked, and his powerful, unsteady arms reached out to grab Ryo by the neck. Even amid all his rage and physical uneasiness, Kek still managed to stabilize his hands so that they were not tightened enough to choke Ryo.

Kek's firm fingers felt clammy around Ryo's neck. The panicky touch signified that Kek had been worried and scared, and Ryo inwardly berated himself for not supporting his dear companion, however necessary leaving may have been. Ryo had experienced worse situations before, so calm hands reached up to stroke Kek's face, flicking away the damp hair clinging to his handsome features. Ryo pierced into Kek's gaze until finally the blond looked away, pushing Ryo aside

Ryo licked his dry lips. "Kek, I . . ."

"I know," the blond mumbled. "I hate you so damn much, Ryo."

"What . . . What do you know?" Ryo paused in asking, fearing the answer.

Kek's brows lowered as he stared dejectedly at the floor. "I know that you care about . . . about me more. I hate you, Ryo. You can care about me all you want, but . . . I'll still be the one sent away again. You'll choose Marik. I hate you. I hate him. I hate all of you bastards." Kek clenched his fists. "I hate you for making me feel this fucking . . . _disappointment_. I should hate you because you're weak and pathetic, I should hate you because you never let me have my way, I should hate you because you try and make me human, but I _don't_! I hate you because it hurts knowing I can't stay with you in the end! Because you're going to choose him . . ."

Ryo's throat dried up. The words he tried to form came out as gasps and grunts. Thousands of words existed with millions of ways to combine them, yet nothing sufficed to assuage Kek in that moment. No other situation was _like_ that moment. Just like Ryo no longer had the ability to speak, Kek no longer had the ability to move. All Kek could do was put a hand to his lips as he stared at Ryo with rueful eyes. Ryo approached Kek with careful steps, getting on the bed so that he hovered over the larger man.

"I will never leave you," Ryo started with a soft voice. Pale fingers intertwined with brown ones, and they moved up to Ryo's chest. "You won't leave me either; that's why I hate you, Kek. I will have to live with the fact that I couldn't maintain you physically, but you'll be in my heart and memories, mocking me and my failure." Ryo's lips twisted into a bitter half-smile. "I have already chosen _you_, Kek. That's what makes this so much worse."

Kek remained quiet. His hand stayed in Ryo's, fingers twitching just a little before he started to speak once more. "The Pharaoh and his lot always rambled on about hearts and bonds, but I never even knew I had one until now." Kek clutched Ryo's hand painfully, but Ryo kept his complaints silent. Kek's voice became an almost snarl. "I don't want a fucking _heart_; I want _you_! Don't feed me that shit like all those other idiots about staying together in heart. A memory isn't _you_. A memory and bond in the shadows will just twist and morph into everything I hate, but _you_ always twist and morph into someone I actually consider good people."

Ryo chuckled in his dark, sad tone, but it was not entirely humorless. "You're being silly. I'm a person, Kek. To be a people, I have to be with you."

Ryo tugged his hands away from Kek until the other let go, and wrapped his arms around Kek's neck. The smaller male leaned in slowly, giving the angry man beneath him time to reject him, though the blond seemed to lean in just as much. The desire to meet each other's lips became so strong that both forgot their troubles; the distant decreased further and further, bond becoming more and more intense with each passing second.

"Will you be with me?" Ryo murmured an inch from Kek's face.

"Only if it could be forever." Kek paused for a small moment before grabbing Ryo's arms and tossing him aside, sending him tumbling onto the floor. Though the broken words cut into Ryo's spirit, the gaze of longing and irritation that he saw on Kek's face truly broke the last of Ryo's strength. They held each others' stares for another minute.

Kek rolled off the bed, despite his pounding headache, and stood facing away from Ryo. Ryo dropped his gaze down to the floor. Guilt ate away at his stomach.

A long, loud groan sounded through from the other room, unmistakably pained and unmistakably Marik's. The noise grew louder the longer Ryo and Kek remained immobile, until Ryo could no longer ignore his friend. He risked another glance up at Kek, voice small. "We need to see him."

"Why?" Kek instantly flared. "He doesn't want to see me, and I sure as hell don't want to see him!"

"Kek, the reason he's here is to see you." Ryo left out the part where Marik actually focused on seeing Ryo's dark half over his own. "You guys should work something out. Maybe . . . Maybe he knows how to let you stay?"

Kek laughed; a dark, humorless cackle. "Don't count on it. That bastard is as worthless as he is stupid and selfish."

Ryo almost smiled at Kek's childlike huff and arm-crossing, but he had a point. The odds of something good happening from Marik's visit were lower than Kek's chances of getting a job as a social worker. But Ryo understood well enough that they had a duty to the smaller, weaker Egyptian currently sitting alone in the other room.

Ryo stood, crossed the room, and firmly took Kek's hand. Their fingers remained tightly interlaced as they walked out of the bedroom door, and Ryo hoped silently for the best.

Marik coughed and wheezed while the two other males came into view. The blond sat hunched over on the cushions, instead of lying on the couch, and Ryo could tell that he tried to stand and failed. Tensions seemed to swell in the room when the two Egyptians, once one, walked into each others' presence again, headaches swelling as shadows increased. Though Marik's vision remained fuzzy from the overwhelming pain, he managed to turn and glance at the others in the room. A few moments had to pass before Marik's sight cleared up, but when it did his jaw tightened and his eyes widened at the leering dark figure by Ryo's side. Violet eyes met violet eyes, ignoring the maroon ones in the room.

"You look so much like me now," Marik sighed with new pain welling in his heart.

The words were like pouring water on an already hissing cat. "Take that back!" Kek bellowed loudly enough to shock Ryo back a step. "I am _nothing_ like you! Just look how weak you look right now. You could never handle your own problems, and when I tried to fix things you _sent me away_!"

"You tried to sacrifice me to the Shadow Realm in a duel for no reason other than to keep _my_ body!" Marik's voice trembled but his violet eyes flashed anger. "Loads of good that did you, since you were the one banished in the end -"

"You fucking stole it back!" Kek's voice was a furious shout.

Marik swore, attempting to stand on weak legs. "It's your own fault you had to go away. It was either you or me, and you sure as hell didn't deserve to stay!"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean, Kek . . ." Ryo mumbled, remaining a few steps away from the two angry blonds.

"Shut your damn mouth!" Kek ignored Ryo, instead advancing on Marik. "I was the one who deserved to live! You had 16 years to do things on your own, but I only had a few days."

"And that was too much!" Marik gasped, falling back against the cushions despite himself.

Even through his rage, Kek sneered at Marik's weakness. "You squandered your freedom from the tomb killing and stealing and hurting people just to get 'revenge' on someone who you wound up helping anyway. It was pathetic!"

"_I had no choice!"_ Marik's violet eyes were livid. "You think I _wanted_ to help him?!"

Kek snarled. "Instead you should have thanked _me_, and just let _me_ experience the world you were too stupid and blind to appreciate!"

Marik stopped Kek's tirade with an upturned hand, breathing heavily as he adjusted his body on the couch. When he spoke again, his voice was a low, breathless hiss. "You killed my father. Then you let me believe it was someone else! I spent _years_ filled with hatred at an innocent man because I never realized that _I_ was the guilty one for creating a _monster_ like you!"

Kek leered but Marik hastened on, refusing to let his hated dark half speak. "I could have learned to cope with everything! I could have lived a _normal life_ if you hadn't stepped in!"

"By your choice! You are so _weak_, Marik!" Kek threw his head back in dark, cackling laughter. "You've always been just as evil as I, and now you're still trying to send me away when I haven't even done anything! Do you honestly not see why getting rid of you in that duel was the _only_ way for me to move on with my existence?"

"Don't you fucking –" Marik began, but Kek interrupted, veins exploding on his forehead as he full-on shouted.

"Your weak self got lucky. You got help from others to send me away to Hell itself!" Kek's nostrils flared in fury, his lips twisting into a cruel sneer. "Tell me, how _exactly_ have you moved on with your life? I bet you just cling to the past and act as anti-social yet haughty as before. I bet by now that white-haired nuisance even left you, realizing how worthless and untrustworthy you are."

Marik went utterly still.

Steam almost visibly shot from both the bronze men's ears, both ready to fling more verbal assaults at the other. Too quickly for Ryo, the observant and weary onlooker, to catch, Marik launched himself upright and at Kek. Their verbal fight took to physical aggression in the blink of an eye with fists and kicks landing anywhere they could. Marik only held the element of surprise for a hit or two, but afterward Kek predicted and countered the blows from the weakened man with vigor.

Kek hardly registered his own power, and instead of a fight, it became a pure beating of Marik. Ryo rushed in after the first hit to stop the attack by trying to hold Kek, but Kek's battle instincts kicked in, and he flung Ryo off without a thought. Ryo knew that even if neither were weakened by pain, Marik would likely lose, so watching the Egyptian battle his darker half in such a pathetic state frightened Ryo. Marik fell to the floor, and Kek prepared for a final blow. Swiftly as he could move, Ryo kneeled down in front of Marik and met Kek's fist, taking the brunt of the mighty blow.

"Shit, Ryo!" Kek exclaimed, falling to the floor and propping up Ryo's fallen body. "Why did you get in the way? I could have killed you!" Kek's hold over Ryo tightened, as though scared of the thought of killing Ryo.

"Idiot . . . That means you could have killed Marik even more easily. Jeez, I should have threatened you not to fight, even if he hit first," Ryo sighed, clutched the spot on his shoulder Kek struck. The pale man stood up with a slight wobble at first, but assured his companion that he was alright. "Marik, are you okay?"

Marik looked up at Kek and Ryo from the floor without verbally replying. "Why did he . . . just have to bring Bakura into this?" Marik closed his eyes and allowed another tear to fall before opening them once more, specifically at Kek. "Now you're back, but I can't even apologize to Bakura to his face like I need to."

Ryo held in a sigh. "Marik, you need to let go. Bakura's gone. He had no body of his own, and his soul probably moved on. I'm sure wherever he is, he's heard you and wants you to let go. Besides, he never was one for forgiveness and love. He probably finds all this sniveling annoying."

Marik darted his gaze to Ryo. "You can't just tell me that when you look so much like him! It isn't fair. What do you and my other half have, to make the gods allow this? Bakura was special to me, and I need to bring him back. It's only right . . . It's the only way to be fair to him."

"I don't look like him, Marik." Ryo's brows furrowed in anger despite his attempts to keep control. "I told you that he had no body! He stole my appearance the same way your dark side stole yours. You'd be offended if I said you resembled Kek, wouldn't you?"

Kek shot Ryo an annoyed look but Marik wordlessly nodded. "That is true." Standing cautiously on his own feet, Marik met Kek at eye level. "You really do look like me now, my other half."

"Kek," the dark side growled. "I know Ryo said it already. My name is Kek. And it doesn't matter if I look _like_ you if I never _become_ you. I'd never be as low as you."

"Kek?" Marik asked with a quizzical glance at Ryo. "It suits you, I suppose." Standing for too long close to Kek affected Marik, but Ryo reached out to catch the blond before he collapsed on the floor again.

The smallest male helped Marik back to the couch, regret filling his maroon eyes. "I am so sorry for this, Marik, but," Ryo hesitated as he reflected on Marik's question a bit longer. "You asked what Kek and I have, right? It's special, Marik. It's stronger than what you and Bakura had; it doesn't run on deals and shady agreements. It's . . ." Ryo turned away to stare at the still fuming Kek. What _were_ Kek's feelings? Ryo knew how he felt, but someone as monstrous as Kek could never match the emotion.

"Why don't you just leave?" Kek growled, words obviously directed at Marik, although he refused to look at either of them. He was disgusted with Ryo for even bothering with his weaker half. "Just looking at you gives me a bigger headache, and I know that vice versa is true, too."

Marik snarled. "Because I came here for answers, and I still haven't gotten them! Why did Ryo bring you back?"

"Because he was destined to come back." Ryo's voice was surprisingly firm as he thought through his words. "I . . . I used to think that it was an accident, never a mistake, but Kek is _supposed_ to be here. Kek was a _surprise,_ even to me – I never meant to summon him – but he is here because he never should have been sent away to begin with." Ryo fixed a burning stare directly on Marik. "Do you _honestly_ believe it was fair to send a part of your own self to the shadows?"

Marik avoided Ryo's gaze, looking at Kek instead. "Don't ever ask a manipulator for his honest opinion on things, Ryo. Still, when he doesn't look so monstrous, I . . . I know he's human just like you or me . . . Bakura is human, too, you know," Marik added with a piercing look at Ryo.

Ryo swallowed. "I . . . I understand why you would think that, but he still can't come back, Marik. Humans die. Even Kek," Ryo choked on his words a little, "Even Kek won't stay forever . . . The last of my Shadow Magic could never maintain someone as great as him."

"He's going to leave so soon?" Marik asked in shock.

Kek snarled. "Don't sound so happy about it! I wasn't even brought back on purpose, and there's no way to keep me here. You need to leave already, asshole. You're ruining the last of my time in this world," Dark violet glared at dark violet. "I'm sick of you looking at Ryo, too. Just because we look alike doesn't mean that he'll fall for you!"

"Fall for me. . ." At that moment Marik earned his title as a genuine blond. "Y-You mean you and Ryo . . . Ryo, you _fell_ for _him_?!"

Ryo blushed noticeably despite his still pink sunburn. The sudden accusation successfully distracted the pale male from the insulting way Marik was looking at him, as Ryo determinedly gazed at the floor by his feet. Marik stared at Ryo as though the vilest sin had been committed, and Ryo really had no way to defend himself when he knew he had done something as bad as fall for a monster.

"I guess I have. I think it's mutual," Ryo stated with a reluctant but approving nod from Kek. Ryo shot Marik a beseeching glance. "Please leave now, Marik. I answered all that I can answer. Being around Kek is obviously causing you grief, and I don't approve of your presence causing Kek pain. I only have so much shadow magic left, and once I run out, Kek is gone. I know you hate him, but leave us alone, Marik. We deserve to enjoy the last of our time together."

Marik cast his gaze low. The love and care Ryo possessed so obviously in his tone allowed Marik to forgive too easily, and the Egyptian was sickened by such a gentle expression on a face so much like Bakura's. Still, being mad at Ryo only made Marik feel worse; Ryo was a friend, and he did deserve to enjoy some happiness, especially if it would be far too fleeting. Marik was interrupting something special between the two other men. Though Ryo and Kek disturbed Marik, even blinded by hatred, Marik knew that Kek had evolved into more than just "the dark half." The calm expression of derangement, the slightly lax lion's mane hair, the collected eyes of a madman, the overall way Kek held himself together proved that no matter how wild and untamed he appeared, he still deserved a piece of humanity, and Ryo really was as human as they came.

Marik stood again, suddenly in much less pain than he had been, and stared right into Kek's defiant gaze. Despite his ever present fury, Marik knew things were a bit better than before. The lighter-hearted Egyptian stood on sure feet for the first time since Ryo had visited him days ago, a small smile on his face as he felt lighter and more at ease than he had in a while.

"Don't do anything stupid in public while you wear my face," Marik warned without the expected malice in his voice. "I still hate you, but for Ryo and my own conscience, I'll allow my dark half to remain. I failed another before, but . . . you should have this new, small chance at life."

"Thank you, Marik." Ryo bowed to his friend before giving him a brief hug. "You make yourself much more accepting of this situation than you actually are, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Marik frowned a little. "It's not a matter of accepting anything. He's here, and he'll be gone soon enough. I'll just have to live my time with Bakura vicariously through you two."

"The hell you will. Just go already! I'm sick of looking at your ugly mug." Kek stomped his foot to accentuate his point of walking away.

"I understand. Goodbye, I guess," Marik still felt weak, but he left swiftly enough without any more words needed, not that anyone wanted to talk anymore.

"Keh, good riddance," Kek laughed upon hearing the door swing shut. "I swear, all that ass does is complain. I didn't even throw the first punch! Like he even had a right to be mad at me. I didn't even _ask_ to come back, and he assaults me. Fucker better leave us alone."

"I guess. That went a bit too smoothly, don't you think?" Ryo tapped one of his long fingers to his chin and frowned. "He's so angry – as I would be in his situation – but he still accepted this with a grain of salt. You came from a good man, Kek." Ryo turned on his heel to face the towering man beside him. "Would you like to try the pogo stick again?"

Kek glared at Ryo, not bothering with words, until a smug smile came over his face. "Depends," Kek started as he leaned toward a smiling Ryo, "Will you fall on me again?"

"I don't think I can fall any more, actually," Ryo whispered. Again they were leaning into each other, ready for the special touch that only the other could give.

Both their smiles dropped when, instead of a warm, solid kiss, Kek's face passed through Ryo's body as though it were mere air.

* * *

_I've come to realize during writing some of Ryo's dialogue that this entire story works as a very veiled critique on abortion in present-day feminist culture. I'm sure no one would have suspected if I didn't announce it (I barely even noticed until I went rereading Ryo's bits), but Ryo has distinctly referred to Kek in 3 occasions as how __others__, then __I__, then my __mother__ has referred to fetuses and babies in order of derogatoriness to the euphemistic approach. Heh, she calls us "surprises." My mother is far too understanding. _

_I'm really happy none of you were aborted, even though your mother likely had the chance. You should review to share the joy of life and happiness with me and Jem._


	10. Chapter 10

**Jem here again! Can I just say that this chapter, in my opinion, is flawless. It is all Grey's, I just fixed the odd typo, because I read it through and I was going to add bits but then I just thought, 'Nope. This is perfect. I cannot change it.' I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!**

_I actually went back to reread some chapters after being detached from them for so long after finishing this chapter, and I actually became quite sad with how this story is progressing. LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL, GUYS! Sometimes I worry that people stopped reading this story because they started to get bored and think lowly of if, but if I ever met such people I would cut them. Seriously, how dare they not love this story? This is my baby, and ain't no one 'bout to diss my baby._

_UPDATE NEXT MONDAY. I missed last Monday because I finished this chapter Tuesday, but I dislike the other days of the week to update, so I'm updating next Monday to keep the average of bi-weekly updates._

* * *

Ryo lost his footing, but did not entirely fall, clutching onto Kek's shirt. Kek's hands darted to his face, cradling his nose to make sure his face was still there, and also to assuage the pain.

"K-Kek, no . . ." Ryo still held onto Kek's shirt, the only thing he could trust to be solid in such a situation. When Ryo reached his tentative hands to cup Kek's face, the large man tried to swat him away again, only to fail when his arms passed through as though they were a hologram.

"Ah!" Kek screeched. Every time he passed by something, his nerves interpreted the sensation as that segment being chopped off or cut, even though the solid world could not feel him. By pain alone tears welled in his angry violet eyes, but Kek knew to stay strong.

Instead of collapsing on the floor and bellowing out his pain and sadness, Kek froze in unspeakable fear. In the passing seconds, Kek reached out a hand to hold Ryo, and for a moment it stayed. Ryo's own soft fingers gripped the bronze hand to make sure it was still there, and kept it tightly latched to his own. The two stayed like that, grateful to feel the other's soft touch, until Ryo squeezed a little too hard and felt his fingers slip through Kek's.

The blond pulled his hand away hastily, but desired more touch. He wanted to touch Ryo more. He wanted to hold Ryo. He wanted to love Ryo. He wanted to be human enough to do all those things, but _he was not real. _However much he wanted to think he could feel and love, Kek consisted of nothing more than shadow matter. Shadows could never and should never be tangible and existent, but Kek _needed_ to prove the shadows wrong.

Kek smashed or thrashed whatever he saw. A lamp shattered on the floor. A wooden stand splintered in two. Mostly his arms and legs just slipped past everything. His rage never fully blinded him, but he also could not see the situation clearly. Nothing positive could be seen in the foreseeable future, so he chose to stop looking. The wild man needed a way to vent and feel solid, but he broke something only half the time he went for strikes, the other half being when he went intangible but still felt the pain from his failed strikes.

Ryo watched with his eyes already blurred, prepared to join Kek in the smash fest. The furniture did not matter to him in the slightest, not in comparison to Kek, and the only action that felt fair was to let Kek vent. Had Ryo any less control, he would have acted on his fury more than his despondency. Ryo wanted to laugh at how many others would be afraid or intimidated by such a ruthless man, but the fact that Kek literally lacked the physical ability to hurt him provided no solace.

Unlike Kek, who wanted to repress his sadness, Ryo openly showed the emotion. Every tear that leaked from his eyes represented their time spent together, passing away and falling to the ground with a shatter. The two shared the same three emotions - fear, anger, and sadness - but Kek only expressed how livid he was at the situation enough for both males by constant seething and thrashing around, and Ryo only expressed how heartbroken he was at the situation enough for both males by the incessant tears that could not be stopped.

Neither expressed their fear.

Anyone looking on at the scene would probably assume both were madmen, and that would be a very true thought. One acted out his feelings of confusion too strongly, and the other stood in dejected understanding; they were perfect madmen when together. A bitter laugh escaped Ryo's lips, and Kek stopped his activities to laugh with him. The sound chilled the air.

Noticing that Kek assuaged his temper slightly, Ryo approached him with all the ease and assurance he could. Neither wanted to look each other in the eye, so Ryo only went as far as wrapping his arms around Kek from behind. The action alone halted Kek, and neither entirely knew how or what to feel. Despite passing through before, Kek remained solid enough to hold, and Ryo noted with a lifted heart that even when he was intangible, his presence had been warm.

"I've never experienced shade that was warmer than the spots in the open sun."

Pale arms dropped from Kek's body. The large man turned around, not letting Ryo stop so soon. His own bronze arms coiled a bit lower than Ryo's shoulders, and he appreciated the warmth Ryo emitted despite his snowy appearance. "You better explain what you meant," Kek grumbled into their embrace.

Ryo smiled, wrapping his arms willingly around Kek's neck. "I'm just saying that you're still here. You aren't the shadows if shadows are cold and lifeless. Even now, despite it all, I feel your heartbeat sync with mine as our chests touch."

Kek's chest gave in a little, but both were careful in how they held each other, so Ryo did not fall past him. The headache in the back of Ryo's mind flickered, but he noticed Kek remained more solid the more his head hurt. The smaller male waited a moment for the pain to increase before lifting himself on his toes for a hard kiss. Ryo planted himself carefully, gentle so that Kek would not fall, and cautious to not lean in much in case his shadow magic flickered out.

Kek disregarded all of his prior rage and turmoil when he felt Ryo's lips finally touch his own. The blond never understood the significance of the action, unused to physical interaction that did not revolve around pain. Kek took a few extra moments to settle into the unfamiliar feeling, but he interpreted and welcomed the touch as a form of intimacy he so desperately needed. For the moments that passed during the kiss, neither knew sadness, pain, anger, or even fear. The only emotion that ruined the otherwise perfect moment was the bitterness that they could not keep going forever.

Ryo focused on Kek. From the way the blond moaned to the way he smelled, Ryo dedicated each gesture with extensive precision. The harder Ryo focused on all the sounds and actions Kek embodied, the more strain it caused on Ryo's mind, but it dulled when he touched Kek more. Sloppy, hard kisses morphed into ones of longing and passion. Occasionally Kek would separate for air, but Ryo felt as though every moment not embracing Kek fully was wasted.

Ryo traced his hands down, noticing for the first time how much pleasure he received just touching Kek. Ryo smiled into their kiss when he heard a distinct gasp from Kek as he slid his hands all over Kek's back beneath the black shirt. In all reality Ryo dominated the two because Kek never experienced such pleasure. Ryo slid his tongue over Kek's full lips, but the blond never opened his mouth. Need swelled beneath both their pants, so Ryo decided to take further change.

The smaller male stood on flat feet, breaking the relentless kisses. Pale hands barely clutched onto the scarred back, and maroon eyes avoided violet ones. "I'm being selfish, Kek," Ryo murmured with his eyes cast low. "I . . . What do _you_ want to do? If this is . . . If this is your last night here."

Kek scrunched his blond eyebrows. Despite the dark expression, his body moved in easing, caring gestures. "If this is my last fucking night here, then I'm going to do what I'll never be able to do in those damn shadows." The tone came across as hard and annoyed, but the kiss that followed was everything but, soft and doting.

The gentle kiss distracted Ryo, and after a moment, Kek's face slipped once more, but barely so. Pain shot through Kek's lips for a moment, but he refused to show it. Again Ryo's tongue darted out, but then Kek graciously accepted the wet muscle. Every new action of intimacy vibrated throughout their bodies, feeding their need for more.

"I want us to feel, Kek," Ryo mumbled as he separated his lips from Kek's for air. The pale hands escaped from beneath the dark shirt, and settled over bronze fingers. They grabbed them hesitantly, slowly making sure that the dark hands were real, before Ryo nodded and began walking backward. "We should continue on a bed."

Kek made no protests as Ryo walked to the bedroom. For how rushed and fast-paced their small romping was in the living room, they took slow, easeful steps to the room. Ryo only turned around when the bed was directly behind him, and sat down facing Kek. His weaker arms tugged at Kek's stronger ones, and Kek leaned in obediently.

Again their lips locked onto each others. Kek gripped a handful of Ryo's long white hair, placing a firm hand behind Ryo's head, and pushed further. Ryo felt the tug at the back of his head from Kek, but actually appreciated it as a means to ignore the tug at the back of his mind. Kek consumed all of Ryo's attention, and thankfully that helped solidify Kek. So much solid and intangible weight focused on Ryo's head, he lost the will to support himself.

The smaller male laid himself on the sheets beneath him, wrapping his legs around Kek's waist while his arms wrapped around his neck. Ryo still dominated the situation by his slow grinds against Kek, and Kek moaned with every new sensation. Everything excited Kek as much as they confused him, but not once did he break away. Since the dark being had no prior knowledge of what is "prideful" and "shameful" during intimacy, he openly showed his emotions of pleasure and need.

Not that either one depended on the sounds to know it felt good. The bulge in Kek's pants explained enough to Ryo, and Kek figured out Ryo felt nice by the way his eyes lit with every touch.

Ryo wanted to touch so much more. As much as it pained him, Ryo broke the kisses to maneuver off Kek's shirt. Kek growled when his lips became unoccupied and his body became cold, but especially when he noticed Ryo not removing his own shirt. Not gentle like his lover, Kek tore open Ryo's shirt and instantly roamed all over the exposed pale chest.

Kek's infamously long tongue escaped its prison to dance all over the open skin. Though the action was sloppy and inexperienced, Ryo flushed with pleasure as the tongue traced his nipples. Dark hands also ravaged the pallid flesh, nipping at the pink nipples when the tongue was occupied elsewhere, or grazing long nails over the sensitive skin for those small sensations. Ryo's moans echoed softly in almost a hum, but he wanted even more feelings from the wicked man towering over him.

They panted after they parted. Their eyes met once more, and they spoke all that their mouths and bodies could not.

"How much of this do you understand?" Ryo asked when he caught his breath, hands tangled in Kek's blond mane.

"Enough," Kek answered firmly. His face was flushed, and his tongue hung out when he was not speaking. "This is you and me, right?"

A tear fell down Ryo's face. Kek's honesty both lifted and deflated Ryo's mood, and the pale male could not distinguish if the tear came from pride or disappointment.

"That's exactly what this is." Ryo smiled, and leaned up to kiss Kek on his forehead. "You and me."

"Yeah." Kek smiled back, not a smirk or sadistic grin, but a real, genuine smile. Despite himself, Kek wiped away the tear before turning his gaze away from Ryo. "You should still lead. I don't . . . I really have no idea how to do _this_."

The white-haired male untangled his fingers from the blond mane, putting his hands behind him to grab the sheets and slid away. "Heh, I guess I can. For an amateur, you were doing pretty well." Ryo backed away far enough so that he could sit down, but beckoned Kek closer with a taunting finger.

Kek crawled on the bed, hovering over Ryo while they continued a tongue-filled kiss. The monstrous man's devilish tongue swished around and explored every crevice while Ryo allowed the ravaging. While the blond was distracted, Ryo flipped them over so that he sprawled over Kek, bare chests touching. Kek vocalized no complaints, partially because his mouth occupied itself with other utterances, when Ryo broke the kiss and trailed his mouth down Kek's body.

Ryo latched his lips onto a tender spot on Kek's neck, sucking and nipping until he saw the blatant hickey. Ryo wanted proof that he touched Kek, claimed him before the shadows, and the love bite could prove to the shadows that only one person possessed Kek in body and soul. Kek, oblivious to such a form of ownership, only noticed Ryo hesitating to continue, and growled.

Ryo chuckled to himself, and kissed onward. The natural darkness to Kek's complexion made adding more marks difficult, but Ryo carried on. Even if the nips and licks would not show, Ryo's authority appeared by Kek's gasps and moans. Vibrations reached Ryo from beneath Kek's chest and throat from when Kek moaned, and that alone gave Ryo all the physical proof he needed to claim Kek's body.

Kek glared behind half-lidded eyes. Though he lacked sexual knowledge, Kek knew that Ryo was asserting dominance instead of going further by the familiar look in his eyes. Kek barely felt real under Ryo's expert touch, pleasure melting him into the sheets. Moans escaped his mouth like prisoners with open jail cells, but the moans did not feel quite real.

Ryo held back, and Kek could tell. The blond wanted every blissful sensation Ryo could offer, and wanted to return that bliss. Instead of meek gasps, Kek wanted his throat raw as he screamed and groaned in an unthinking mess of pleasure.

Ryo ceased all movements in an instance. The smaller male sat on Kek's pelvis lightly, hands at the hem of his dark pants, and eyes asking for approval. "Here's where you want it?" Ryo asked, slipping one hand under the pants to stroke the blatant erection.

Kek jerked his full body up. Violet eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. Kek unleashed an earth-shattering groan, and he felt the straining erection pleading even harder for more touches. "Again. I need it, Ryo!"

Ryo pressed a finger to Kek's lips, shushing him from more pleading before he kissed him again, grinding even more against Kek. Ryo needed touches as much as Kek, but his focus remained on the blond beneath him. The kiss broke, and with hasty hands Ryo slipped away the last of Kek's constraining clothes to the floor.

Ryo was already desensitized to Kek's naked form, but none of those earlier sights compared to the spectacle beneath him. Before, Kek and Ryo remained limp and innocent to sexual desire. Gazing at the fullness of the apparent arousal watered Ryo's mouth. Touch aroused Ryo, but seeing the thriving manhood inspired him to do more for his lover than he intended.

As Kek desired, Ryo palmed the leaking head. The wild man thrashed under the pale hand. Nothing could ease the immense pleasure, yet Kek bit his bottom lip and gripped the sheets in a vain effort to stay in control of himself.

Ryo licked his lips and smirked at his handiwork. The tantalizing erection beckoned Ryo for more, and he had no qualms with giving into it.

Kek screeched when Ryo's mouth engulfed half of him at once. Powerful fingers tore the worn sheets beneath him only to let go entirely. Kek wanted to lean forward and shove Ryo down his entire shaft, but he did the opposite by raising his hips into the air. Ryo expected and accommodated such a reaction. Though his mouth remained full with over half of the thick, pulsing erection, one hand rubbed the rest of the shaft while the other hand massaged the balls.

Feeling drove both males. Ryo did not relish the taste of another man on his tongue, but he did revel in knowing that the man in question was his love. Hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, _touching _Kek gave incentive to continue more than having his own physical gratification. Ryo had briefly experienced the horror of not being able to feel Kek; he would not miss the opportunity to embrace his love as much as he could before he would have to fade forever. Ryo agreed to help Kek experience the entire world, and he would condense all the world's joys into just their two bodies.

Feelings drove Kek less selfishly than Ryo. Time in shadows passed in seconds, and each second functioned as an eternity. Eternity without sound, colors, and physical sensation instilled the desperation for all of those things in a way he had yet noticed until he reverted back to a world without feeling. Listening to the loud heartbeats as both males grew more excited, watching his breathtaking lover's hair sway and twist while he gave ultimate pleasure, breathing in the scent of their sweat together, remember the taste of sweet meat and candy from his lover's mouth, receiving the ultimate physical gratification from someone so beloved . . . Kek never appreciated any of those things before being sent to the shadows, and would never appreciate them again. The emptiness soon to happen drove Kek's desire for fullness.

Suddenly Ryo stopped. Pale pink lips popped away from Kek's penis. White hairs dangled all over Ryo's face in knots and tangles, so he flipped the hair back, tucking some behind his ears, to flash Kek another unhidden smile. "Don't you dare make that pouty face at me, Kek."

Kek growled in response, missing the encompassing warmth. "Don't you dare suddenly stop!" Kek briefly flashed a genuine, pleading pout, but reverted back to his hard glare when Ryo laugh at him.

"Shh, shh," cooed Ryo as he stroked Kek with his hands. "I want you to feel even more than that. I want you to feel _me_." Ryo sucked in the cold air, running a finger over his tangled mess of white locks. Though removing his hand from Kek annoyed Ryo almost as much as the blond, Ryo stood and rushed to his nearby nightstand.

"What the hell are you doing now? I felt you _fine_ before!"

Ryo briefly turned his head to look at Kek, who propped himself on his elbows trying to get a better look at Ryo, to see him flushed in a cross between sexual arousal and anger. The sight motivated Ryo to hurry his scavenging. Ryo could smell of steam coming from Kek as he waited, and thankfully Ryo found the small bottle hidden under the mess of cards and figurines in the drawer.

"Ryo." The name meant to come off as threatening, but the soft pleading tone undermined the intended harshness.

"I understand, Kek." Ryo sat on the bed once again, leaning over Kek with the bottle in hand. "I'll make you feel everything tonight." The promise was sealed with a kiss on the lips.

The smaller male adjusted his body over Kek's once again. The painful constraining pants dropped with a swoosh before Ryo kicked them on the floor as well. The cool air bit some of the life out of Ryo's erection, but not noticeably so, especially when he carefully rubbed his and Kek's together in a smooth motion. Being the first time Ryo dared to please that part of himself in months, he threw his head back to the side with a raw moan.

Kek's control went to the wind as well. Though the physical wow by the gentle rubbing technically lacked, admiring Ryo had its own charm. White hair fell over a shoulder like a messy blizzard, pallid skin remained a pure canvas save for the few spots Kek had painted, and wise brown eyes shone half-lidded with lust. Kek wanted to reach up and hold Ryo in a tight, warm embrace, but _did not trust his damn arms enough to bother._

Ryo controlled Kek's physical form, so Kek avoid moving any part of himself lacking Ryo's attention. So long as he did not use the parts of his body fading in and out, he would not notice them disappearing, and that kept his mind at ease when aiming for ultimate sensation elsewhere.

"You sure you don't want to try leading?" Ryo winked at Kek when he slipped his body a few inches away. A grunt met Ryo's ears in reply. "That's okay then. Leave it to me."

The curious and confused gaze in Kek's eyes remained throughout Ryo's unusual display. The small bottle Ryo searched for finally provided purpose as much of its contents oozed onto Ryo's left palm and fingers. The clear liquid slid a bit over the relatively small hand, but Ryo remained careful to keep most of it guided to his lower body.

Ryo's left arm reached behind his body so Kek remained oblivious to Ryo's activities. A few bent knuckles could be seen from under Ryo's manhood, and Kek gasped. One finger vaguely moved within vision in and out of Ryo, but Kek continued counting as two then three thrust and stretched Ryo's inside. Nothing clicked in the virginal blond's head, but the expressions contorting over Ryo's face implied a cross between pain and relief.

"H-hey . . ." Kek lacked formal training in comforting people, but instinct kicked in and his hand entwined with Ryo's available fingers. The solidified touch remained unspoken but appreciated, and Ryo squeezed back with gratitude.

Kek shut his eyes to catch his breath, then hissed when a sudden chill slid down his erection. The fingers Ryo used on himself massaged the generous coat of the cool liquid over the sensitive area, but Kek made no complaints while feeling his lover's warm hand expertly rubbing him.

A ruby-brown lip twitched when action stopped for a moment. Ryo scooted his body up and lifted so that his slicked crack slid against Kek's pulsating penis. When Ryo unexpectedly dropped himself down so that the head squeezed into Ryo's tight entrance, Kek gnawed down on his lower lip lest his moaning make his lover deaf.

The drops down allowed Kek further in Ryo with continuous and steady centimeters at a time. Slicked and prepped, Ryo remained neutral during the tedious adjustment time, but Kek curled his body to contain his need to thrust. Ryo's inner walls had remained virginal and tight his entire life, and the heat inside surpassed anywhere else. The pleasure wrapped down Kek's entire shaft, and Ryo gave silent thanks that he was able to fit every inch inside comfortably.

Then every inch but the head came out only to slam back in. Kek arched his back. Blond hairs damp with sweat stuck to the frame of his face and in a wild fan over the pillow beneath. Normally bronze cheeks tinted coral. A long pink tongue hung out openly as moans flew out. Up, down, up, down repetition enthralled Kek instead of boring him. Tightness, heat, in, out, thrust. Kek wanted to help Ryo by pumping him, but a pale hand already matched their rhythm, so Kek just continued to grinds his hips into Ryo.

Ryo lost control of the situation when, instead of guiding Kek carefully inside, the blond set a faster rhythm. Fast sex never appealed to Ryo, but the situation demanded the hard and desperate pace. Slow and steady during all the foreplay was necessary when trying to learn each other's bodies, but they needed to let go of thought for a moment and let physical touch engrave into their memory.

Ryo did not expect letting an amateur take control would work for a first time, but Kek shot himself up in an angle Ryo would not have tried, hitting a bundle of nerves that made Ryo's mind blank.

In that moment, Kek also went blank, and Ryo experienced a phantom sensation of having something consuming his lower entrance without any touch. Kek still felt tightness, but none of Ryo's endearing coziness. A moment passed for Ryo to regain his thoughts, and instead of allowing his mind to blank when pleasure dominated his consciousness, he amplified concentration on Kek's form and tangibility. Any pleasure he felt reflected back to Kek.

Contentment, and pleasure, and bliss, and euphoria traveled through Kek's nervous system at typically impossible human doses. Kek hit the spot that helped Ryo, and received all his lover's pleasure with his own.

Gasps, gasps, moans, groans, pants, gasps.

The sensation of being consumed by desire and passion. The sensation of sloppy slick smooches. The sensation of pounding into a bare body.

Kek orgasmed into Ryo with his full load, but continued to move inside his lover.

The sound of satisfaction in the room.

Gasps, gasps, moans, groans, pants, gasps.

The sensation of being ravaged by desire and passion. The sensation of sloppy slick smooches. The sensation releasing with a bare body.

Ryo released his load over Kek's form, but it landed on the bedsheets

The sound of completion.

Sensation of fading away. Sensation of phantom touches. Sensation of no more sensation.

The sound of desperation.

Sounds existed because feeling left.

* * *

_A part of me likes the double digits, another side misses the odd numbers. Next chapter is a odd AND prime number, so that's exciting for me. _

_Did you know This story sometimes makes me so sad I have to think about the insignificant little things to make me happy?  
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS!_


	11. Chapter 11

_No Jem A/N; she was feeling ill. Only me and my will to win the small competition I have going between **air du temps**. She is a tough nut to crack, but Jem KNOWS the plot, and even she cracked at last. Sometimes I worry about how this story panned out because I thought it would be much shorter, but everythign is still happening mostly on schedule._  
_I mostly like that I have dropped small bombs of sadness in this story since chapter one, but the happiest, silliest scene in the story (pogo Kek in 8) came right before the nuclear bomb of depression. ^.~_

_I HAVE POGO STICK KEK FANART! If the artists would allow me, I'd like to share those beautiful pieces of art. I LOVE THEM SO MUUUUCH!_

* * *

Ryo always wanted to hold his lover after his first time with someone real. Sweaty bodies would warm each other as they lay together with arms wrapped around the other. Even if the experience lacked in physical excitement, like many stories Ryo had heard about first times, and even if afterward he desired to sleep away, Ryo always wanted to sleep. He found the most excitement from sex being the intimacy afterward of appreciating his lover's presence as more than just a pleasure-giver. Ryo wanted to lie in the center of the bed with his partner, each holding the other, but instead they rolled away to different edges, facing each other.

Ryo smiled. For however many more moments, Kek existed, and he could see that. Maroon eyes drooped, but continued gazing at Kek's bare form. Touching his lover left Ryo with his ability to smell and taste Kek, but he saw and heard Kek as well. The pain in the back of his head fizzled as Ryo focused on Kek, wanting to let go and sleep, except Ryo refused it.

"Are you cold?" the question rang in the still air. Kek curled his body beside Ryo's on the bed in an effort to feel the pale man's body heat.

Ryo's brow furrowed. "No. I . . . I can use the blanket. You?"

"Doesn't matter." Kek looked away, eyes firmly shut.

"That's not a proper answer." Ryo huffed, staring at Kek despite the darkness settling into the room. Avoiding the love juices on the bed, Ryo scooted closer to Kek and draped part of the sheets over the blond. However, Ryo regretted his actions when Kek winced in pain by the blanket falling through him.

"I told you it doesn't matter if I'm cold," the blond spat. Violet eyes narrowed for a moment before softening again. Kek wanted to appreciate the sight of his lover, not scorn it.

Silence filled the room once again.

Kek growled. "I'm fucking freezing. Cold doesn't describe it right."

Despite the anger in the tone and the sad truth of the words, Ryo laughed at Kek's childish honesty. "It could definitely be worse. You can still feel my body heat, right?"

"Yeah, I can. I follow some laws of nature, at least." Kek pushed his body even closer to Ryo's. A bronze arm draped over Ryo's side, hesitant from the fear of slipping under instead. The touch literally ghosted over Ryo's skin, there but not there, but Ryo wrapped an arm around Kek's side just as carefully.

"You feel really gross now. You're all sweaty. At least I don't feel gross." Kek poked the pale arm, much to his lover's annoyance. The dark tan finger traced over Ryo's exposed side in an angle lower and lower to his pale posterior. "This is especially gross."

Ryo lifted his arm to swat Kek away, forgetting that he would slip past anyway. "Stop that, you pervert! It's embarrassing. I can't even feel it, and that makes it even more embarrassing!" Ryo flushed pink in the bright room, much to Kek's pleasure.

"But I like it. This is mine, and you can feel it." A finger slipped into Ryo to feel the drying semen. Kek, however, frowned when Ryo made no reaction. "You really can't feel a single thing I'm doing to you."

Ryo turned away, his lips sealed shut, so Kek pulled his hand away from Ryo entirely. Instead he placed it in the spot between the two of them.

Ryo avoided Kek's solemn gaze. "I can feel other things you do to me." Kek made no response so Ryo rolled closer, lifting his hand to ghost lightly over Kek's insubstantial form. "I can feel my heart speed up, I can feel my heart swoon, and I can feel my heart break." A pale hand left Kek's body, instead hovering over the bronze one in the space between their bodies. Ryo looked Kek straight in the eyes, darkness swirling around them. "I can still feel you. I will always feel you."

Kek held Ryo's gaze for barely a second before he retracted his hand and rolled so that his back faced Ryo. His tone was dark. "Except you can't. You'll forget these touches, these moments. It'll be easiest to forget me."

"Liar." The word, spoken from Ryo's lips, dropped between them as a stone in a lake.

Kek's reaction was instantaneous. Ryo never had time to continue, or even blink, before the blond turned around and hovered over Ryo, every movement speaking of the strength he once owned. Kek remained cautious to not slip through the pillows and bed, but concentrated on Ryo. Violet eyes burned with dark shadows. "Take that back."

Ryo looked away.

"Dammit, Ryo!" Kek scowled, his voice almost desperate. "Take it back. I'm not a liar. That's the one piece of innocence I can cling to against the shadows! You'll have an easier life forgetting me. I already made your life enough of a hell already, didn't I?"

Maroon eyes span back around to meet Kek's. "And I don't care about that stuff. It's not ever going to be easier to forget you. You're the one wh-who will . . ." Ryo took a moment to calm himself. "You're the one who will be trapped for eternity with only these brief, mortal memories. You said so yourself, that they would morph and change after time."

"Will you be mad if the memories change?" Kek leaned closer, but Ryo felt nothing.

"Huh?" Ryo tilted his head in confusion.

Kek growled. "I was mad because I thought you would want to forget me. Will you be angry at me if I can't beat the madness of the shadows?"

Ryo lifted his arms and grazed his fingers around the silhouette of Kek's body. His fingertips met nothingness, but he spoke nonetheless. "Never. It makes me sad, but I can't fault you. I trust you. I know you wouldn't want to forget me."

"You're being an idiot again." Kek leaned down so that his lips grazed Ryo's lips. Ryo brimmed with life and warmth, and Kek appreciated every touch. "I don't even want to leave you. You're the only good thing I've ever known. I never want to forget you."

"You're an idiot, too, if you don't want to leave an idiot." Another smiled flashed over Ryo's face. White teeth reflected the little light remaining in the room, and pink lips curved perfectly into a subtle arc. The smile ended when Ryo yawned. Brown eyes hid themselves from the rest of the world, and Kek noticed Ryo's body going slack beneath him.

Kek moved off Ryo to his own spot on the bed. The blanket had fallen off Ryo's body long before, and Kek inwardly sighed when Ryo pulled it back over both of them. Before the blanket covered them, Kek savored looking at all the marks and symbols decorating Ryo's body. Kek had gripped a few spots hard enough to bruise, while others spots had love bites. Kek especially loved watching his essence slide down Ryo's thigh. Everything ended too soon. The blond man's greed needed so much more, and nothing could be done.

"Sweet dreams, Ryo," Kek mumbled as he rolled onto his side.

"Sw't dr'ms, Keh . . ." Ryo fluttered his heavy eyes to look at Kek again. Even the wild man's appearance had faded away to a thin translucency.

Kek sighed aloud. Ryo snoozed into noticeable dreamland with his mouth hanging open and his head buried into the pillow. Kek continued to watch him, rolling just a little nearer, and he finally allowed his longing and desire to show plainly on his face. He yearned for Ryo, yearned for a life in the light rather than to be banished back to the shadows. But that future was forever closed to him.

"Idiot. I already told you that nightmares don't dream." Kek's tone was blank and resigned. He wanted to push away some of the messy strands of hair sticking to Ryo's sweaty face, but knew he could do nothing for Ryo's comfort. He was barely substantial.

Kek growled. "I really do wish I never met you. If we met at Battle City, I'd have killed you or banished you to the Shadow Realm with pleasure, but now I wish no one ever had to go there. Two days ago I wished I was still evil enough to kill you. Hours ago I wished I even had the physical ability to kill. Now I wish I was still evil and killed you so I could deserve my spot in the Shadows."

The light in the room completely faded with the setting sun save for a few faint stars. Shadows surrounded the two, but only Kek remained conscious enough to see the foreshadowing darkness. Kek could no longer see Ryo, and a large part of him wondered if the Realm of Shadows had consumed him instead of nightfall.

Panicked hands reached for Ryo, touching his form desperately. Kek almost wept beside his lover in joy that he was not alone just yet, but the situation mimicked isolation too much in his pathetic insubstantial state. Emotions ranging from depression and hatred to gratitude and contentment swelled into Kek's fading body, but all of them eventually evolved into emptiness and bitterness.

"You're despicable, Ryo." Kek's voice was quiet; barely a whisper. "How dare you make me feel human? Humans don't belong in the shadows, yet I have always been a part of the darkness. I guess I was born there to die there. I must not have ever been human."

Ryo never stirred from his sleep.

Kek fell into silence as he realized there was nothing more to be done. His time in this world, initially an undeserved gift, was drawing to a close. No lights in the shadows. No lights for a shadowed soul.

Ryo lulled himself into a relaxing and comfortable world covered in a thick, warm blanket while Kek lay cold and abandoned next to him.

...

Marik left Ryo's home with a skip. Most of his headache had subsided despite being so near his wretched other half. Marik took the stairs down to the parking lot in small celebration of his fading pain. The blond's main goal had been to get some fresh air, yell at Ryo, and figure out how to get Bakura back. A grin split across Marik's cheeks when he swung a leg over his bike. Even with a small inkling of anger and frustration, Marik still felt very pleased with his visit. The blond started his motor and left the apartment complex with full intention of returning.

The elation died quickly just as Marik reached a curve to drive onto the main road. A sudden pang of disappointment and longing pulsed through the blond, and he cursed under his breath, knowing that the feeling was not his own. Kek's emotional turmoil hindered Marik's control, but Marik knew how to control himself better after the visit. Rage fueled more rage, and Marik utilized the fury to speed up and rush to his destination.

Ryo and Kek had emphasized that Kek would fade away, and Marik could tell. The levels of rage and bitterness rose, but they settled further in his mind than before the visit. Before, Marik could barely distinguish his emotions from Kek's, but this time Marik seized control and used the righteous feelings as energy and motivation for his own personal goals. The increased brain activity sparked Marik's dubious nature of plotting and conspiring.

Marik sped more until within a few minutes he arrived at his destination. Small, shabby, smelly. Marik recalled why he never visited the home instead of having the other visit him. Desperation urged Marik's mind to continue for the sake of his plan, despite the unwelcoming surroundings, as he knocked on the tattered front door.

A few moments passed before Marik heard scuffling inside. Soon the door opened wide, revealing a large man with hieroglyphic scars on his face and sharp, collected green eyes. "Brother?"

"Er, yes," Marik answered. "I mean, hello, Odion! Sorry for intruding, but it's a bit urgent."

"Too urgent to call five minutes in advance? What if I was in the shower or out?" Odion berated with scolding sibling eyes.

"I'd have waited here until you come back." Marik's smile beamed brightly, but did not fool Odion's eyes from calling Marik out.

"Not for a family reunion, I take it?"

"Of course not." Marik scoffed, his foot tapping impatiently on the doorstep. "You know I hate your house. That's why I invite you over when I want a family reunion. Are you going to let me in yet?"

With a hard sigh, Odion stepped aside to allow Marik entry. "I would complain, but I have spoiled you throughout your life too much to be angry now. How is Ishizu?"

Marik rolled his eyes. "As prying as ever. You should stop by sometime. She's having an exhibit here, so she's staying with me."

"That sounds like a good idea, brother. She especially doesn't visit here." Though Odion laughed at the memory of Ishizu's reaction the first time she visited, he missed being with his siblings. Odion wanted his family to be comfortable in his home.

The older brother shut the door and cleared a spot on the couch for his brother to sit. Odion's house was cluttered with unusual items. Unlike clothes or food wrappers or miscellaneous household products, Odion scattered many herbs, potions, charms, and any other mystic items or relics. The outside looked tattered from an angry spirit attack, but Odion never bothered with repairs.

A mellow sensation of euphoria hit Marik's nerves. Lips tingled, and his heart pounded, but the back of his mind still throbbed with sorrow and need. Marik needed to hurry his visit. "No more small talk, Odion. I need the help now."

"I understand. Ask away," the gruff man replied as he took a seat across from Marik.

"How do spirits take over people?" Marik leaned forward eagerly. "How can someone house another body and remain separate beings?"

Odion's eyes hardened as he scrutinized his brother. "You should know better than anyone that two spirits close together never fully separate. A little piece of the other stays in the back of the conscious being's thoughts. The thoughts are their own, but can always be influenced." Odion's brow creased. "Is there . . . another spirit issue?"

Marik was quick to respond. "Not quite. I was just wondering how two spirits can merge into a body like that."

"With you it was easy, splitting the original spirit. If a spirit is completely separate, you'd need a connection by item or blood or relation." Odion sat back a little, watching his brother carefully. He was surprised by this topic. Marik rarely brought up anything even remotely resembling Kek. "Relations don't normally work unless they were formed while the spirit was more than just a soul and a complete entity."

"You're sure? That seems like the basic information I could gather from the Pharaoh and . . . Bakura." Marik clenched his fists together, but kept level-headed.

"That's all from what I've studied," Odion responded carefully. "I'd say ask Ishizu, but this is one of the few things she doesn't study. None of my books mention anything differently than just making sure some connection exists, and the spirit will have possible reign. If you want to get rid of a spirit you send it somewhere else, and no one ever truly wants to summon a spirit."

"I see. Thank you, Odion. Be sure not to get possessed yourself, alright?" Marik stood up and patted Odion on the shoulder, but he was inwardly fuming.

"Already going? You worry me, Marik. You should be happy that the spirits are gone. I study on part to protect you," Odion's voice remained hard, but caring, reflecting his eyes nicely.

"I know," Marik mumbled, not meeting his brother's peering gaze. "I have to go now, okay? Bye, Odion."

Marik walked to the door. The blond heard a distinct "Be careful" behind him, but rushed to his bike all the more.

Marik ignored Odion as he walked outside, but gave a polite wave goodbye when he turned on his bike and sped past him in the doorway. Though the information given was obvious, Marik accepted it in his stride. The young Egyptian man let the wind blow through his hair with his worries. Marik had no use of fretting, so he would simply act on what he knew was the only truth. He had only one way to get Bakura back, as much as he would prefer another.

Delirium that was not his own washed over Marik. Though he had not been speeding, the sudden burst of euphoria caused a swivel in Marik's steering, causing many angry honks. Marik sneered at the cars passing by, wanting to tell them that their loud noises would not make him drive any better, but he was too focused on his destination. Never had Marik's secondhand emotions been filled with such pleasure. Marik steadily adjusted to the feelings, but he could not handle that initial shock of pleasure, especially as pleasant vibrations coursed through him by riding his bike.

As a precaution Marik slowed his driving and obeyed most traffic laws. The pleasure started fading after many minutes, but not because Marik stopped noticing. The initial sensation sparked life into Marik with feelings of gratification and appreciation, but those all passed even though Marik began to focus on them. By the time he parked his bike, the pleasantries left, leaving behind only remorse and longing once again.

The negativity increased as he walked to the familiar door. The ache in his heart stopped his breath a few moments, but the blond gathered enough energy to knock.

...

Looking at Ryo sleeping's form no longer amused Kek. A few minutes had passed since Ryo slept bundled into the sheets, but Kek could only stare at him for so long before growing restless. Anxiety consumed him in ways it had not when Ryo had been conscious and consoling. Lying in a bed agitated the blond, so he stood up and walked out of the bedroom.

No noise could wake Ryo's deep slumber, and Kek was too intangible to make a noticeable disturbance as he left. The family room's lamp lighted the area, easing Kek's fear and annoyance somewhat. The fading man wanted to turn on more lights or the TV though he knew every effort angered him more and more.

Anger welled within Kek, but the hopelessness wore at his will. Eventually most of every feeling faded until only boredom remained. Kek wished for anything to do at all, anything to occupy the endless night. Moments passed with Kek almost wishing for the Shadows to take him. Shadows would at least not tease him with half-imagined pleasures that could no longer be.

A noise. Kek had never heard a sound quite like it before, so it took a few hits to pinpoint where it was. Originally Kek ignored the sound, but he knew that he had no reason not to at least look at the intruder.

By irritated strides, Kek reached the door and opened an eye near the small peephole. His jaw clenched at the sight. The bitter Egyptian actually appreciated that he could not open the door for the visitor.

"I know you two are in there," the gratin got familiar voice ordered. "This is important!"

"No, it isn't! Leave. We just saw you, so you should have no business here!" Kek snarled by way of response. Through the peephole, Kek saw the angry expression on the other man's face. A smug expression spread over his own tan face, knowing how frustrated he made the other.

"Let me in!" The unwelcome visitor was persistent. "Ryo, tell him to stop being an ass! This is important."

"He's sleeping. Leave. I can't open the door anyway." Kek stepped away, ready to walk down the hall to be with Ryo, until he heard a rustling on the other side of the doorway.

Kek saw the lock turn and wished he could hit himself. The other had spent years as a thief; Kek had no ability to stop him from entering. Though he knew he would experience great physical pain for a moment, Kek decided to walk outside rather than let the intruder in. Ryo should not be disturbed.

Bare naked and irritated, Kek stood outside, noting how chilling the wind blew and how shocked the other man's expression was. Too soon the other realized that Kek tried to get a rise from him, and accordingly, he ignored the nudity, instead releasing a loud exclamation. "What the hell?!"

"I'm fading away," Kek responded bluntly. "Ryo told you already that I couldn't stay. I'm basically just for show now."

"Good thing I came then," the tone oozed cockiness. "I have a way to make you stay in this realm. Not like you have much time to decide yes or no, now do you, my other half?"

Kek growled. "I don't want your help. Leave me to die in peace. Alone."

Marik's face contorted again with a look of revulsion and annoyance. "Don't be so ungrateful and selfish. Don't you think Ryo is going to miss you?"

"He'll get over it. He's . . . He's a lot stronger than he looks." Kek's face showed some fleeting emotion before returning to blunt, hard features. "When I'm gone, he'll be better off. This is my being selfless, Marik"

Marik's logic left him and he lunged to attack Kek's face, only to stammer through. "Ugh! You idiot! That's not how it works. Ryo's not going to get better because you leave. He'll get worse as he eats himself up inside and hates himself for failing you. You may not respect me or care about what I'm saying, but I know from very similar experience that you'll break Ryo if you go."

Kek snarled. "Well then, I don't want him to care about me and hate himself! He never failed me. He gave me the world and then some. I don't deserve him no matter how you manipulate me."

"That's not how love works, Kek! Don't you love Ryo enough to do anything to stop him from hating and destroying himself?" Marik's eyes shone with sincerity and concern, and that threw Kek off guard more than the punch did.

"But I can't stay . . . He should know that I don't deserve him." Another icy zephyr moved the air around the two, but despite it Kek's cheeks lit.

"Do you love him?" The question, spoken so simply, possessed a world of complications.

Kek hesitated before words tumbled from him. "I don't know that emotion. Ryo never taught me what it meant, okay?! I care about that pasty, puny, pathetic guy. He's made me feel everything, but I don't know what love feels like."

Marik rolled his eyes; he wanted to quickly get Kek involved in his plan, but instead he wasted crucial time consoling his darker half. Marik needed to speed the conversation quickly. "Love is what Ryo feels for you, and . . . and what I feel for Bakura. It coils in your chest from caring and wanting another person. I saw how Ryo looked at you, and it's the same as how I looked at Bakura in the end. Knowing you, you definitely love Ryo."

Kek chewed his lips. No one needed to explain what love is. Kek knew after the first romantic movie he saw with Ryo that he could say the words "I love you" with the same look of fondness and admiration in his eyes as the actor in the movie. Kek never told Ryo he loved him because he could never be completely sure, but Ryo never said it first. Ryo should have known better, so if he never said something even akin to it, how could Kek trust his manipulative other half about Ryo?

"So what if I do love him?" Kek asked in defeat.

"You trust me to help you stay in this world." Marik could see well through Kek's insubstantial frame. Parts of Kek's body hardly existed, being near transparent remnants of a true, physical form.

"I don't trust you. I can't. You could be lying about Ryo!" Kek bellowed, hands clenched as much as they could be, fire being nearly gone.

"It's not about whether I'm trustworthy or lying. You know Ryo loves you, and I know that you don't want to go. So . . ." Marik trailed off his word, not willing to repeat himself again. Both pairs of violet eyes bore into the other's, trying to assert dominance by gaze alone.

Marik eventually continued. "Don't you want to tell Ryo you love him?"

Kek's shoulders slacked. Kek wanted to spend a lifetime telling Ryo that he loved him. Kek wanted to hold Ryo again, to be as intimate as he could with the angelic man. Kek wanted to exist fully and experience everything the world had to offer with Ryo. Kek wanted to say yes, but other words came out instead.

"What's the catch?"

A smirk graced Marik's lips. "I suppose it's only fair to tell you. You better believe that if I do something to help you stay in this realm, then I will ask for something -reasonable, mind you- in return.

* * *

_I figured out where my number obsession came from. I once wanted to by the 1000th "thiefshipping" story on FF. net, but I got 999th instead, but then I realized I liked 999 MUCH more, so it stayed with me._

_I really loathe the new character filters. If I choose Marik I. and Yami Bakura, I want Thiefhsipping! I dont want four names that could be Angst,Bronze,Tender,Psycho possibilities! I just want the two characters as a pairing. DX_

_Anyway, thank you all for being alive! Review, if you may so please!_


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